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Late on June 25, 2021, in Putnam County, James “Jimmy” Crecco, Sr. was getting into his car outside his brother’s Lake Mahopac lake house on Route 6N when he was struck by Mahopac resident Maggie Deperna, who fled the scene after hitting him.
Crecco was transported to the Westchester Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead from his injuries sustained in the hit-and-run.
Putnam County District Attorney Robert Tendy said that law enforcement launched an “exhaustive search” through the night following the hit-and-run, as they sought the driver.
According to Tendy, members of the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department and the Carmel Police Department were led to Deperna’s home, and using drone surveillance, found her Jeep Cherokee hidden in nearby brush and trees with extensive damage to the front of the vehicle.
Investigators said the damage was consistent with having struck a pedestrian - specifically noting that her Jeep was missing the right-side rearview mirror that was recovered at the crash scene.
“Members of law enforcement, led by the Sheriff’s Department’s Narcotics Enforcement Unit (NEU), searched tirelessly through the night and days immediately following the incident to determine Deperna’s whereabouts leading up to the fatal crash,” Tendy said.
The investigation determined that Deperna purchased alcohol from an area liquor store on the morning of the crash and again approximately an hour before the crash on June 25, while driving to several places in between including a nail salon and Mcdonald's.
At approximately 7:30 p.m., video surveillance showed Deperna consuming a margarita at a nearby restaurant before getting into her car, pulling onto 6N, and swerving into oncoming traffic, almost causing a head-on collision with another driver, within seconds of turning the bend and striking Crecco.
Tendy said that GPS data concluded that after the crash, Deperna did not stop and drove directly home, where the empty bottles of wine that Deperna was on video having purchased that day were later recovered.
Deperna was arrested the following morning, on June 26, 2021, after a member of NEU conducted a traffic stop on a rental car being driven by a still-intoxicated Deperna.
Deperna pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide on Wednesday, Feb. 2. On Thursday, March 31, Tendy announced that she has been sentenced to a term of between six and 18 years in prison.
“Everybody collaborated so professionally on this case. From the Sheriff’s office, the Carmel PD, ADA Charbonneau, and Smith, and the Crecco family--It was a tremendous effort,” Tendy said. “My heart goes out to the Crecco family—and everyone impacted by the tragedies brought about by drunk driving. It’s a stupid and senseless thing to do. There’s no reason for it.”
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