Man convicted in deadly Thruway crash in Henrietta

Victoria E. Freile, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
Updated ·2 min read

An Erie County man was convicted of several felonies for a 2021 crash that killed one person and injured four others on the New York state Thruway in Henrietta.

According to New York State Police, William Shanahan, 45, of West Seneca was driving a sport utility vehicle east on the Thruway around 6:45 a.m. on Aug. 3, 2021, when he started to drive off the north shoulder of the highway and overcorrected. He drove across both eastbound lanes and rolled the SUV several times onto the south shoulder.

All five people inside the SUV were injured, including two young children. One passenger in the SUV - Dustin Jones, 33, of West Seneca - suffered the most serious injuries and died, according to the Monroe County District Attorney's Office.

Troopers determined that Shanahan was under the influence of methamphetamine at the time of the crash.

A state Supreme Court jury on Tuesday found Shanahan guilty of aggravated vehicular homicide, aggravated vehicular assault, second-degree vehicular manslaughter, first-degree vehicular assault, second-degree vehicular assault, criminally negligent homicide and aggravated driving while intoxicated with a child passenger, all felonies. He was also convicted of driving while ability impaired by drugs and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, misdemeanors, in connection with the crash.

"William Shanahan acted in an incredibly destructive, reckless manner when he made the choice to drive under the influence of drugs, taking the life of his passenger and endangering the lives of all other passengers in the vehicle," said Assistant District Attorney Janna Koch. "It is our hope that the family of Dustin Jones can find peace in today’s verdict.”

Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley said Shanahan's actions caused Jones' death, injured a second adult passenger and "risked the lives of two children. Homicides caused by DWI are especially frustrating to our community because they are preventable."

Shanahan is scheduled to be sentenced by state Supreme Court Justice Alex Renzi on Nov. 22. He is facing a maximum sentence of 25 years in state prison for the top count of aggravated vehicular homicide, according to the District Attorney's Office.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: William Shanahan convicted in deadly Thruway crash in Henrietta NY