Retired Hudson Valley Judge Sentenced For Fatally Hitting Teens
Some are disappointed a retired Hudson Valley judge won't serve jail time after he fatally hit two teens with his car.
On Thursday, New York State Supreme Court Judge Stephan Schick sentenced 89-year-old Isaac Kantrowitz of Woodridge after he was convicted for reckless driving stemming from a 2019 crash that claimed the lives of two Sullivan County teens.
In June 2019, 16-year-old Devin Zeininger and Justin Finkel, 14, were fatally struck by a vehicle operated by Kantrowitz as the teens walked on Glen Wild Road in the Town of Thompson.
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After an extensive, weeks-long presentation, a Sullivan County grand jury charged Kantrowitz with reckless driving, an unclassified misdemeanor and two traffic violations.
Following the grand jury’s determination, Sullivan County District Attorney Meagan Galligan held a press conference urging the State Legislature to pass the vehicular violence act, a set of laws proposed in 2019 to correct current laws that prevent criminal prosecution of many fatal crashes like this each year across the state, officials say.
Kantrowitz will not serve jail time for the fatal accident but had his license permanently revoked and was fined the maximum amount. How much he was fined was not released. Kantrowitz is a retired Fallsburg town justice and a Woodridge village trustee
“The deaths of Devin and Justin will always be an unfathomable tragedy. When I inherited this case, my Office made this investigation a priority and fulfilled our promise to these victims to make a full, fair and legal presentation of this case to a grand jury and to prosecute any crimes it charged. The defendant pled guilty to the top charge issued by the grand jury and his license is permanently revoked. While my Office joined in the recommendations of the Zeininger and Finkel families, Judge Schick ultimately determined that justice in this case does not call for incarceration. I recognize the anguish of these families and our community, and I continue to urge our Legislators to enact the Vehicular Violence Act to fix the broken laws in our State as they relate to offenses like this," Galligan stated.
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