New York man charged in fatal car accident

New York State Police responded to a deadly accident in the early morning of Dec. 13, according to local reports. A New York man has been charged with negligent homicide following the fatal car accident that claimed the life of a 64-year-old driver and injured the accused man’s passenger. So far, no court date has been announced. 

The accident report states that, for reasons unknown, a 23-year-old man drove his SUV north into the southbound lanes of Interstate 684 in Bedford Hills, striking another vehicle head-on. The driver of that vehicle, a 64-year-old woman, was killed immediately. The wrong-way car then struck a second vehicle, though the driver and passenger in that vehicle were uninjured. 

The 23-year-old and his unidentified passenger were both injured in the crash and were taken to Westchester County Medical Center for treatment. The man was then charged with one count of felony negligent criminal homicide and taken to a county jail by police. He was being held there against $100,000 bail as of the media report. 

If the man is convicted of the pending charges, he could face significant prison time. Even if New York prosecutors do not win a conviction, evidence police gathered regarding the car accident can be used by the family of the deceased driver to pursue a wrongful death suit against him. Civil in nature, these types of lawsuits rely upon evidence of negligence to succeed in court. The mere fact that the man was driving the wrong way on I-64 may be enough to constitute negligence under these circumstances.

Source: NBC New York, “Negligent Homicide Charged in Head-On Crash in Westchester County“, Dec. 13, 2015