A family's Christmas will likely be forever ruined thanks to an alleged drunk wrong-way driver on Route 9.
On Monday, 41-year-old Mark Cope was arraigned for a wrong-way, head-on collision he allegedly caused while intoxicated two days before Christmas in 2020 which resulted in the death of an Ossining mother.
The charges in the indictment are as follows:
- · Three Counts Aggravated Vehicular Homicide, a Felony
- · Manslaughter in the Second Degree, a Felony
- · Aggravated Vehicular Assault, a Felony
- · Vehicular Assault in the Second Degree, a Felony
- · Assault in the Third Degree, a Misdemeanor
- · Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated, a Misdemeanor
- · Two Counts Driving While Intoxicated, a Misdemeanor
- · Reckless Driving, a Misdemeanor
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Cope, from Yorktown, faces a sentence ranging from a minimum of 1 to 3 years to a maximum of 8 1/3 to 25 years in state prison.
“This horrible tragedy cost a woman her life and a daughter her mother due to Mark Cope’s decision to selfishly get behind the wheel of his car while intoxicated,” Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah said.
On December 23, 2020, at approximately 9:07 p.m., Cope drove northbound in the southbound lane on Route 9 in Peekskill when he crashed head-on into the car driven by 32-year-old Shina McClam, officials say.
McClam died at the scene. Her six-year-old daughter and 18-year-old niece, who were passengers in the car, suffered non-life-threatening injuries from the crash and were transported to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla. Both spent one week in the hospital.
Cope had a blood alcohol content above the legal limit at the time of the collision, according to the Westchester District Attorney's Office.
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