Griffin
KINGSTON – A Shandaken man was sentenced in Ulster County Court
on Tuesday to 2 1/3 to seven years in state prison following his conviction
of vehicular manslaughter.
The case against Danny Griffin, 32, stemmed from a collision on Route
28 in the Town of Olive near Dancing Rock Road on August 25, 2015. Griffin
was driving a 2001 Toyota Sienna at 7:30 a.m. when he veered into the
eastbound lane of traffic and collided with a Subaru driven by Delores
Falkowski, 64, of Woodland Valley. Falkowski, who was on her way to work
in Kingston, died from her injuries.
An investigation revealed that Griffin had purchased heroin mixed with
fentanyl in Newburgh in the early morning hours of August 25, 2015. A
witness in southern Ulster County said Griffin had injected himself with
the drugs in her presence prior to Griffin driving north to Shandaken.
Griffin’s blood was tested and confirmed the amount of fentanyl
would have impaired his ability to drive a car. Fentanyl, a synthetic
opioid, is over 50 times more potent that morphine.
“This was a frustrating investigation which highlights a recurring
issue we have,” said District Attorney Holley Carnright. “New
York State privacy laws make it very difficult for the prosecutor to access
a defendant’s medical records. In fact, even under these circumstances,
ie, a head-on collision at 7:30 a.m., contraband found in the car, and
the presence of fentanyl in the driver’s blood, our application
for accessing Griffin’s medical records was turned down.”
