POUGHKEEPSIE – Dutchess County Court Judge Jessica Segal sentenced a 35-year-old Poughkeepsie woman to the maximum sentence possible Thursday, noting that it is “inadequate” but that is all she was allowed to do. Camay Pryce was convicted in February for killing a popular Navy veteran, Erin “Doc” Clancy, in a head-on collision in Pleasant Valley in September 2022.
On Thursday Pryce was sentenced to the maximum allowable for vehicular manslaughter, which is two-and-one-third to seven years in prison. She was also sentenced to 364 days, concurrently for the conviction of driving while ability impaired-drugs. She was ordered to pay mandatory restitution and surcharges as well.
“The sentencing range is inadequate to deal with the tremendous loss to the Clancy family and the community have endured,” Segal said during the sentencing. It echoed Senior Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Fluck’s pre-sentencing remarks when she asked for the maximum sentence of two-and-one-third to seven years in prison, calling it “horribly insufficient.” Fluck noted that Pryce, to this day, has denied any wrongdoing despite all of the evidence presented and the testimony of state police experts and said Pryce has demonstrated a “blatant disregard toward this court, the judicial system, and the Clancy family.”
Clancy’s widow, also named Erin, and two of their daughters read statements before sentencing as did one of the other drivers injured in the multi-vehicle wreck on Route 44. “Doc” and Erin, the court heard, had been high school sweethearts and were just days away from their 30th wedding anniversary when Pryce, driving under the influence of marijuana, killed the victim. “You get credit for time served,” the widow said while looking at Pryce. “I don’t.”
Judge Segal softly asked the family to direct their comments toward the bench and avoid looking at Pryce, standing in her county jail jumpsuit alongside her attorney, Ryanne Konan.
When the female victim of the wreck was speaking, Konan, disobeyed courtroom etiquette and sternly warned her to “look ahead” and not toward him and his client. Judge Segal asked the victim to look at the bench and then reprimanded Konan for his behavior, reminding him that he is not permitted to disrupt people who are giving their victim impact statements.
When it was Konan’s turn to speak, he immediately objected to the requirement that his client was going to be ordered to pay restitution for $1,175 for Clancy’s funeral costs not covered by insurance. Konan argued that the funeral fees were likely going to be awarded during the civil suit against Pryce, saying it was not fair that his client would have to pay for the same funeral twice. The entire gallery groaned at Konan’s insensitive remarks” and Judge Segal explained that the imposition of restitution is required by law. “He is insensitive on every level,” one observer told Mid-Hudson News, with another saying “She killed Erin and this clown is frustrated about his client having to pay for a funeral – I am certain that the wrong person died.”
District Attorney Anthony Parisi said, “This case serves as a stark example of the dangerous consequences of impaired driving. Erin Clancy’s life was tragically cut short because the defendant decided to get behind the wheel of her car with alarmingly high levels of marijuana in her blood,” and also commended Senior Assistant District Attorneys Jenn Fluck and Anna Diehn along with the New York State Police for thoroughly gathering and presenting the evidence that resulted in a conviction.
