A Lackawanna, New York man’s sixth felony DWI conviction since 1989 resulted in a prison term of three to six years.
He was also fined $5,000 and had his New York driver’s license revoked by the Erie County Supreme Court in Rochester, NY.
He faced a prison term of three to seven years for his guilty plea to first-degree vehicular assault and felony driving while intoxicated (DWI).
A drunken driving crash seriously injured his passenger and concluded with him wading into Lake Erie in an attempt to flee.
The crash occurred after the drunk driver, another man and a woman spent the morning and early afternoon drinking at a party on Lake Erie beach.
The DWI defendant stole the woman’s car keys and drove off with the other man.
He lost control of the car which ran down an embankment along the lake in Hamburg, NY ejecting the other man who suffered a traumatic brain injury.
The drunk driver punched a good Samaritan who tried to help him.
He then ran off and waded into Lake Erie where the Erie County Sheriff’s helicopter was called to assist the Town of Hamburg police in rescuing him.
A court – ordered blood test revealed Xanax, a drug prescribed to treat panic and anxiety disorders; marijuana; and a blood alcohol content of 0.16 percent, which is twice the NY legal limit for a DWI.
If you have been charged with driving under the influence or vehicular assault, call Friedman & Ranzenhofer, PC Attorneys at (585) 484-7432.