According to a criminal complaint, the driver involved in the tragic wrong-way collision on the Hutchinson River Parkway in Westchester County was found to be intoxicated and using his phone at the time of the accident.
Jose Ramon Espinal, 48, stood before the Rye Town Court on Monday, facing charges of second-degree manslaughter and driving while intoxicated in connection with the tragic incident that occurred on Sunday morning.
Espinal, a resident of Bridgeport, is accused of causing a fatal accident in Rye Brook, where he allegedly struck and killed a motorcyclist while driving in the wrong lane.
Espinal, who also sustained injuries, had to be extracted from his vehicle and transported to Westchester Medical Center. Fortunately, he was discharged on Sunday evening.
The wrong-way driver entered the courtroom on Monday, accompanied by Westchester County police officers. He appeared visibly distraught at the defense table, shedding tears and refraining from making eye contact with the victim’s relatives seated in the gallery.
The county medical examiner is yet to provide a positive identity for the victim, who has been named as William Saleeby in the complaint.
Juan Reyes, a friend and co-worker of Espinal’s, arrived late to support his colleague. He shared with lohud that he wasn’t surprised to learn that Espinal had shed tears during his court appearance.
Reyes expressed her admiration for him, describing him as a genuinely kind and diligent individual. She was deeply saddened by the unfortunate incident.
Espinal and Reyes are both employed at the New York Athletic Club located in midtown Manhattan.
According to Reyes, he finished work on Saturday afternoon, while Espinal was scheduled to work until 10:30 p.m. Reyes was uncertain about Espinal’s activities after leaving work that night or the events that led to the crash a few hours later.
Over the past few weeks, there have been several wrong-way collisions in the New York metropolitan area. Sunday’s incident was the most recent one.
On September 5th, a Long Island mother faced charges for her 57th license suspension. This suspension came after she was involved in a wrong-way collision that tragically took the life of her 9-year-old child in late August.
On August 24, tragedy struck in Harlem as a pickup truck recklessly sped down the wrong side of the highway, resulting in the loss of two lives.