Hudson Valley Man Jailed For Fatal Accident While on Laced Heroin

A Hudson Valley man who admitted he was high on a drug that is 100 times stronger than morphine when he caused a fatal crash is heading to prison.

On Wednesday in Ulster County Court, 32-year-old Danny H. Griffin of Shandaken was sentenced to two to seven years in prison.

In January of 2016, Griffin was indicted following a long investigation into a fatal car accident on State Route 28 in the Town of Olive in 2015.

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On August 25, 2015 at 7:30 a.m., Griffin drove his 2001 Toyota Sienna into the oncoming lane, crashing head-on with a Subaru Impreza driven by 64-year-old Delores Falkowski of Woodland Valley.

Falkowski was killed as a result of the impact. She was driving to work in Kingston at the time of the crash.

An extensive investigation revealed that Griffin was impaired by the use of fentanyl, an opioid which is nearly 100 times stronger than morphine.

On the morning of the crash, Griffin purchased heroin laced with fentanyl in Newburgh and injected himself with the drug before driving home to Shandaken, officials say.

In court, Griffin admitted that he was driving impaired by fentanyl as a result of using heroin laced with fentanyl.

Following the accident, Griffin was found with cocaine, heroin, two crack pipes, numerous hypodermic needles and a tourniquet used to assist with drug injection, police say.

Several experts were hired to assist with the collision investigation and toxicology based on a blood sample obtained from Griffin.

In August, moments before a pre-trial hearing, Griffin pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter.

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