WHITE PLAINS – A 23-year-old Armonk man was arraigned in Westchester
County Court on Wednesday on a 14-count indictment in connection with
the death of a woman.
On December 13, 2015 at about 5:50 p.m., Zachary Tokson was driving an
SUV northbound in the southbound lanes of I-684 in the Town of Bedford
when he crashed head on into a station wagon. The victim, Elena Lopez,
died instantly on impact from several blunt force trauma injuries.
Tokson suffered a laceration of his eye and his passenger suffered broken
ribs, a dislocated femur and lacerations to her liver and spleen. She
survived.
An investigation revealed that Tokson had been drinking hours earlier
at a bar in Brewster. After leaving the bar and having stopped for some
food, Tokson and his passenger got on I-684 south and stopped at a Bedford
rest area to take a nap. Tokson woke up and began driving the wrong way
in I-684 for about 1.1 miles before the collision.
A search of the vehicle revealed a closed, empty bottle of whiskey and
a mixed alcohol drink inside a closed soda bottle.
Tokson pled not guilty to the charges and was remanded to the Westchester
County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bond.
If convicted, he faces from one to three years to eight to 25 years in
state prison.
The indictment against Tokson included two counts of aggravated vehicular
homicide, one count of manslaughter, two counts of vehicular manslaughter,
two counts of vehicular assault, two counts of driving while intoxicated,
one count of reckless driving, three counts of obedience to and required
traffic-control devices, and one count of driving the wrong way.
