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Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced that Yeraldo Roa, age 36, of Port Jervis, was sentenced to two and one-third to seven years in prison on Friday, Dec. 20, following his guilty plea to vehicular manslaughter.
Roa admitted to driving while intoxicated with a blood alcohol content of .20—more than twice the legal limit—on the night of Sept. 23, 2023. He crossed double-yellow lines on Route 6 in the Town of Woodbury and struck three vehicles before crashing head-on into a fourth, the DA's Office said.
His passenger, an 11-year-old girl, was fatally injured in the crash. She was pronounced dead after being transported to Garnet Health Medical Center. Roa and other occupants of the vehicles involved in the collision were also treated for injuries, with some taken to Montefiore St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital.
District Attorney Hoovler praised the New York State Police for their investigation and thanked their Collision Reconstruction Unit for assistance in the prosecution.
Emergency responders from the Town of Woodbury EMS and Hatzolah Ambulance Corp. were also commended for their efforts in treating and transporting the victims.
“Intoxicated driving deaths are as senseless as they are preventable,” Hoovler said. “This defendant made a conscious decision to drive knowing he was severely intoxicated, putting lives at risk. That choice resulted in cutting far too short the life of an innocent victim.”
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