Impaired Taconic Driver That Killed 4 Sentenced
A man admitted he killed four people while driving with his knees on the Taconic and impaired by Xanax.
On Monday in Westchester County Court, 35-year-old Nerim Sinanovic of Bronx was sentenced to four months shock incarceration probation for the 2015 Taconic State Parkway crash that killed four people, including his 2-year-old daughter.
Shock probation is when a judge orders a short-term prison sentence followed by a long probation in hopes prison will deter the person from future illegal activity, officials say.
“Today’s sentencing ends a very sad chapter for two families brought together by tragedy,” Westchester County District Attorney Anthony Scarpino said in a press release. “It addresses the complexities of the evidence presented in this case, and honored the wishes of a family who chose forgiveness and compassion for a defendant who admitted his guilt.”
In August 2017, Sinanovic pleaded guilty to four counts of criminally negligent homicide, reckless driving and driving at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions.
Under terms of his sentence, he will serve a four-month jail sentence followed by five years’ probation.
Sinanovic admitted he took his hands off the steering wheel, turned towards the back seat and steered with his knees, while driving north on the Taconic State Parkway in Yorktown on August 15, 2015,
As the vehicle began to veer to the right, Sinanovic’s wife grabbed the steering wheel causing the 2004 BMW to veer to the left, continue up and over the dividing center median between the north and southbound lanes.
The BMW struck a 2001 Toyota driven by Donald M. Mulvaney, 63, of Brooklyn and a 2015 Ford operated by 28-year-old Tara F. Duggins of Hampton, V.A.
A 2003 Acura, driven by 27-year-old Jennifer Enriquez of Peekskill, sideswiped Mulvaney’s vehicle and came to rest after striking the center guide-rail.
Ledell Mulvaney, 61, and Kathrine Mulvaney, passengers in Donald Mulvaney’s car were killed instantly. Donald later also died.
Sinanovic’s 2-year-old child was ejected from the car and pronounced dead at the scene.
Sinanovic and two other passengers in his vehicle suffered non-life threatening injuries.
A toxicology report indicated Sinanovic was driving impaired by Xanax, officials say.
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