Driver pleads guilty in Fallsburg crash that killed Spring Valley man
A New Jersey man pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree vehicular manslaughter, a felony, in connection with a crash in Sullivan County last year that killed a man from Spring Valley.
Sullivan County District Attorney Meagan Galligan said James Greco, 52, of Franklin Lakes, N.J., entered the guilty plea before County Court Judge Jim Farrell.
According to Galligan, Greco was driving a pickup truck on Route 42 in the town of Fallsburg on May 21, 2021, with oxycodone and fentanyl in his system when he crossed a double yellow line and collided with a van driven by Jose Daniel Roldan-Roldan, 29, of Spring Valley.
Roldan-Roldan was taken by emergency service workers to Garnet Catskills Medical Center in Harris, where he was pronounced dead. Two other people in the van were injured.
Greco was taken to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, where he was treated for his injuries. He was indicted on the vehicular manslaughter charge in December.
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Galligan said the plea agreement her office secured on Wednesday ensured that Greco will serve between five and six years in state prison when he is sentenced on Sept. 8.
"This victim was a hardworking man on his way to a job when the defendant's decision to take pills and drive stole Jose from his loved ones," Galligan said in a statement. "This case demonstrates that statutes pertaining to vehicular deaths in our state are inadequate to address the losses suffered by innocent people at the hands of those who improperly operate motor vehicles."
Greco's lawyer, Craig Weiss, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Times Herald-Record, the Poughkeepsie Journal and the Journal News/LOHUD. Reach him at mrandall@th-record.com or on Twitter @MikeRandall845
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: New Jersey man pleads guilty in fatal Sullivan County crash
