NY motorist pleads not guilty in fatal Amish crash
Court Alerts
A motorist arrested after a wreck that killed six Amish farmers in rural upstate New York pleaded not guilty Friday to aggravated vehicular homicide and manslaughter charges.
Steven Eldridge entered his plea in Penn Yan, his hometown in the Finger Lakes region. The former garbage collector didn't speak during his arraignment in Yates County Court.
The 42-year-old Eldridge also was arraigned on a charge of driving while impaired by drugs, a misdemeanor.
No relatives of the victims or the seven Amish injured in the crash appeared during Eldridge's 15-minute court appearance.
Authorities said his car sideswiped a van carrying 13 Amish farmers from neighboring Steuben County on a Finger Lakes tour on July 19. The Amish van careened into a slow-moving tractor traveling a country road in Benton, 45 miles southeast of Rochester.
Five farmers were killed, and a sixth later died of her injuries.
Police say Eldridge was driving in the town of Benton when he passed the tractor on a curve and ran into a van carrying 15 people, 13 of them Amish who were visiting local farms. Rescuers struggled for hours to free victims from the wreckage lodged under the tractor.
Related listings
-
High court looks at routine strip searches in jail
Court Alerts 10/12/2011The Supreme Court is grappling with the question of whether jailers need a reason to suspect someone may be hiding a weapon or drugs before subjecting the person to an invasive strip search.The court on Wednesday heard arguments concerning just how c...
-
Court won't hear appeal from Alamo followers
Court Alerts 10/11/2011The Supreme Court won't hear an appeal from followers of evangelist Tony Alamo (uh-LAHM'-oh) who had their children taken away when they wouldn't agree not to expose them to the controversial ministry. The high court on Tuesday refused to hear an app...
-
Airline attack suspect sought martyrdom
Court Alerts 10/11/2011A young Nigerian allegedly on a terrorist mission for al-Qaida prayed, washed and put on perfume moments before trying to detonate a bomb in his underwear to bring down an international jetliner on Christmas 2009, a prosecutor told jurors as the man'...
New York Commercial Litigation Law Firm - Woods Lonergan PLLC
Founded in 1993 by Managing Partner James F. Woods, Woods Lonergan PLLC has built a strong reputation as a resourceful and industrious firm that provides clients with clear, concise, and straightforward answers to their most challenging legal issues. Partner Lawrence R. Lonergan, who joined the firm in 2008, has been a friend and colleague to Mr. Woods for over 40 years and shares the same business philosophy. Woods Lonergan PLLC’s collective experience and expertise enables the firm to expeditiously and effectively analyze the increasing challenges clients face in an evolving business and legal world, in many instances, avoiding unnecessary time and expense to our clients. Our mission is simple: provide cutting-edge expertise and sound advice in select areas of the law for corporate and business clients. We thrive on providing each client with personalized attention, forceful representation, and a collaborative team effort that embraces collective knowledge.