On April 30, a jury of ten men and two women convicted Ryan Williams, 29, of Poughkeepsie, on charges of murder in the second degree; aggravated vehicular homicide (four counts); unlawful fleeing from a police officer in the first degree, assault in the second degree (two counts) and aggravated operation of a motor vehicle in the first degree.
The case stems from an incident on July 1, 2018 on Route 299 in the Town of Lloyd where Williams, travelling in excess of 100 MPH while fleeing from police, struck and killed Danielle Pecoraro, 39, of New Paltz, while she was driving east in a Ford 150 pickup truck. Pecoraro’s daughter and a passenger in a vehicle following the pickup truck were seriously injured.
According to the District Attorney’s office, in convicting the defendant of murder, the jury found that Williams acted with depraved indifference to human life.
Moments before the crash, police received a civilian 911 complaint of a man operating a Porshe Cayenne in an erratic manner on Route 9W. The Town of Lloyd Police Department pulled Williams’ vehicle over as it turned from 9W onto Route 299. As the officer approached Williams’ vehicle, witnesses observed Williams throw a glass object out of the driver’s window and flee at an excessively high rate of speed from the officer. Travelling at speeds at times in excess of 120 MPH and passing vehicles on the right shoulder, Williams approached the South Street intersection before losing control of his vehicle and killing Pecoraro. The force of the impact literally tore the Porsche in half and crushed the pickup truck.
Williams’ BAC at the time of the crash was .33.
The case was prosecuted by Sr. Assistant District Attorneys Joey Drillings and Lisa Bondarenka. The defendant will be scheduled for sentencing before County Court Judge Donald Williams at a future date
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