Sheila Bethea Smoked Crack, Did Heroin & Drank Alcohol Before Crashing Van, Killing Two Foster Children, Injured Three Other Children

Sheila Bethea admitted she smoked crack, did heroin and drank alcohol before she wrecked a minivan, killing two foster children. Ms. Bethea caused an accident, killing two of four foster children and injuring her biological daughter, none of whome were wearing seat belts. According to law enforcement sources, investigators believe she wrapped a crack pipe in a tissue and hid it in a body cavity after the crash shortly before 5 p.m., law enforcement sources said.  The foster mother for the children, Genevieve Bethea, is just as complicit in this tragedy. She knowingly allowed this woman to get behind the wheel of a car with the children, when it should have appeared obvious that she was impaired.

Bethea was held on $500,000 bail last night after pleading not guilty to manslaughter, assault and endangering the welfare of a child charges.  Queens Criminal Court Judge Mary O'Donoghue also ordered Bethea not to have any contact with the surviving girls. When will the courts hand down lengthy prison sentences for repeat DUI offenders? How many more children will die before something drastic is done?

What is incredulous is that Ms. Bethea is no stranger to driving under the influence. She pleaded guilty in 2003 to driving a vehicle while impaired by alcohol, told cops she lost control of the van because a replacement tire gave way.

She said was going 45 mph at the time of the crash, though cops believe she was traveling more than 70 mph.  One of the foster kids in the van said yesterday that she knew they were in danger moments before they slammed into another car on a St. Albans street in Queens, NY.

Katherine Willis, 15, and Melissa Elh-Mirra, 5 - two of the four foster children in the care of Bethea's mother - died hours after being crushed inside the vehicle. Bethea's daughter, Tatiana, 6, is in a medically induced coma with massive internal injuries. Alyahh suffered massive bruises on her chest and neck and cuts all over her body, but said she was only worried about her 10-year-old sister, Camara Sergonvich, who was crammed into the backseat. Source: NY Daily News

The biological parents of the four foster children and Bethea failed them on so many levels. What is ironic is that two of the biological mothers for two of the foster children, railed against Sheila and foster mother Genevieve Bethea for putting the kids in harm's way, when they shoulder some of the blame as well. Another mother, Pholia McArthur, 50,  had six of her 10 children placed in foster care, and had the nerve claimed the Bethea family used the kids as "paychecks" and abused them, yet she is clearly guilty of being a bad mother to her children. How do you allow yourself to have 10 children and then have six of them in foster care? Isn't there a big problem here? Genevieve Bethea was not arrested in this tragedy, but she should have been, for endangering the welfare of the foster children, by allowing them to get in a car with someone who was under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

Photo credit: Sheila Bethea, NY Daily News