42°
Westchester County Police have charged a New York City firefighters from Buchanan in connection with a fatal hit-and-run incident that occurred on Saturday in the village of Buchanan.
Eric Werner, 44, an 18-year FDNY veteran who works in Queens, was arrested Sunday and charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, a felony, said Kieran O'Leary, spokesman for the Westchester County Police.
Werner is charged with fleeing in a 2014 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk that struck and killed Joseph Orichello, 63, of Buchanan, on Albany Post Road in the early hours on Saturday morning.
Buchanan Police were notified at 12:48 a.m. that a man was lying in the roadway just north of Bleakley Avenue. Orichello was found dead in the roadway, the apparent victim of a hit-and-run, O'Leary said.
Westchester County Police were asked to join the investigation and detectives from the General Investigations Unit responded as well as crime scene detectives from the Forensic Investigation Unit. Patrol officers from the Accident Investigation team also assisted at the scene.
Detectives developed information about a possible suspect and suspect vehicle using a small piece of the Trailhawk. Werner was taken into custody on Sunday at his home. The vehicle was found in a trailer-type location in Peekskill.
“I would like to commend our detectives and the Buchanan Police Department for their effective work on this case that led to an arrest quickly,” Public Safety Commissioner Thomas A. Gleason said.
Werner was taken into custody about 5:30 p.m., booked at county police headquarters and held overnight pending arraignment Monday. That arraignment is scheduled for 2 p.m. in Buchanan Village Court.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Mount Vernon and receive free news updates.
