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Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah announced on Tuesday, Feb. 8, that after a four-week-long bench trial, Somers resident Jaime Paucar was found guilty for a crash he caused while intoxicated, which resulted in the death of two Ardsley residents.
Paucar, age 52, was found guilty on Monday, Feb. 7, of two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, but was found not guilty of the more serious charge of second-degree murder, said the DA's Office.
He was also found guilty of two counts of manslaughter, and assault, in addition to other charges including aggravated DWI and reckless driving.
Paucar faces a sentence ranging from a minimum of one to three years to a maximum of 8 1/3 to 25 years in state prison.
“For the first time in Westchester, my Office determined that the facts of this case warranted murder charges for the deaths caused by a drunk driver. While we are disappointed that the Court did not render a guilty verdict for those charges, we respect the Court’s decision," Roach said.
The crash took place on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020, at approximately 8:30 p.m., when Paucar drove westbound in the eastbound lanes of I-287 in Harrison when he crashed head-on into the car driven by Jordan Wachtell, age 57, whose 17-year-old son and two friends were passengers.
A Westchester County toxicologist determined Paucar had a blood alcohol content of .24 at the time of the collision, the DA's Office said.
Wachtell died at the scene. One of the passengers, Eric Goldberg, age 17, was transported to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, where he died that night.
As detailed during the trial, prior to the fatal collision, Paucar was driving in the correct direction on I-287 when he crashed into a vehicle, fled the scene, exited the highway, and retreated to a parking lot in Port Chester.
From there, while attempting to drive home, Paucar missed the entrance for I-287 and drove on several side streets before using an exit ramp to enter I-287, ignoring signage and at least three motorists warning him he was driving the wrong way, the DA's Office said.
He then drove westbound in the eastbound lanes for more than two miles, sideswiping three additional vehicles before the final fatal crash.
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