Ousted Schools Chancellor Cathie Black found a Hampton’s driveway tougher to navigate than the city’s education system — she smashed her brand-new SUV into tree after tree following a boozy Bastille Day bash.
Black was unharmed in the late-night incident last Saturday in the driveway of East Hampton developer and restaurateur Ben Krupinski’s waterfront cottage.
“As she backed out, she practically hit every tree in the driveway,” one shaken source said. “One of the guests stopped her and wouldn’t let her drive further.”
Krupinksi and his wife, Bonnie, hosted the catered soirée — complete with a fully stocked bar — to view the famous Grucci family fireworks display over Gardiner Bay.
Black, the former chairman of Hearst Magazines who was booted from the schools-chancellor post by Mayor Bloomberg in April after 95 disastrous days in office, was seen enjoying alcoholic beverages at the party, according to witnesses.
“She was not incapacitated. She said she was not inebriated,” said Gerald McKelvey, Black’s personal publicist.
“She is not familiar with the driveway. She was coming out of the driveway and looking to the left, because she was told there is a dangerous curve difficult to see around, and hit a tree with her car on the right.”
Photos taken of the SUV after the incident show a deep dent above the front right wheel well and a damaged passenger-side mirror that was barely hanging on.
An unidentified passenger in the car was also uninjured.
Shards of shattered glass were seen on Krupinski’s driveway, and the bark was ripped off of several trees.
After the accident, a friend drove Black, 67, the 15 miles back to her stately Southampton mansion.
Meanwhile, the car sat in Krupinski’s driveway until Tuesday.
“We noticed the SUV was there for a few days, just sitting at the end of the driveway. It was a little odd,” a neighbor said.
Krupinski, who runs the East Hampton Point restaurant and hotel, didn’t return calls for comment. He and wife Bonnie are longtime friends of Black.
Black was spotted Monday at the Nelson Mandela Day luncheon at the Four Seasons in Manhattan.
“I’m going to enjoy my summer and think about my next-next,” she told The New York Observer when asked about her next career move.
She added that she had recently returned from a monthlong trip to France and Italy.
Additional reporting by Emily Smith