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
to 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 veered into the oncoming lane and collided with a car 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 a few hours before the 7:30 a.m. crash. 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, i.e., 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.”
