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Yorktown resident Mark Cope was arraigned on Monday, Aug. 23 for a wrong-way, head-on collision he caused while allegedly intoxicated in December 2020 that resulted in the death of an Ossining mother.
Specifically, Cope, age 41, was charged with:
Three counts of aggravated vehicular homicide;
- Manslaughter;
- Aggravated vehicular homicide;
- Vehicular assault;
- Assault;
- Aggravated driving while intoxicated;
- Two counts of driving while intoxicated;
- Reckless driving.
Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah said that at approximately 9:07 p.m. on Dec. 23, 2020, Cope drove northbound in the southbound lane on Route 9 in Peekskill when he crashed head-on into the car driven by Ossining resident Shina McClam.
At the time of the collision, police said that Cope had a blood alcohol content above the legal limit.
McClam, who was 32 years old at the time, died at the scene. Rocah noted that her 6-year-old daughter and 18-year-old niece were passengers in the car at the time of the crash, and both suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Both were treated at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, spending a week each in the hospital. Cope was arrested on the night of the crash following an investigation by New York State Police.
“This horrible tragedy cost a woman her life and a daughter her mother due to Mark Cope’s decision to selfishly get behind the wheel of his car while intoxicated,” Rocah said. “This is why the District Attorney’s Office will continue to hold accountable reckless drivers and seek justice for victims and families who suffer this terrible heartache.”
Cope faces a sentence ranging from a minimum of 1 to 3 years to a maximum of 8 1/3 to 25 years in state prison. No return court date has been announced.
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