The couple charged with the hit-and-run connected to the death of Starllie Swonyoung pleaded not guilty last week in Ulster County Court.
During two separate proceedings before Judge Bryan Rounds on Wednesday, March 6, Lacy Maxwell, 42, and Ryan Maxwell, 43, pleaded not guilty to all charges. Lacy Maxwell was charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident, a felony; and both Lacy and Ryan Maxwell were charged with 3rd degree insurance fraud, staging a motor vehicle accident, and tampering with physical evidence.
Lacy Maxwell was remanded to the Ulster County Jail on $100,000 cash bail, $200,000 property bond, and $300,000 partially secured bond. Ryan Maxwell’s charges are ineligible for cash bail and he was released on his own recognizance.
On January 10, Swonyoung and an unnamed friend were walking on Route 9W between Malden-on-Hudson and Saugerties at aapproximately 5:10 p.m. when Swonyoung was allegedly struck by a 2021 Subaru operated by Lacy Maxwell, who authorities claim then left the scene without checking on the welfare of the victim or reporting the incident to 911 or police. The next day, she and codefendant Ryan Maxwell allegedly staged an accident to cover up for the damage sustained to the vehicle from the hit-and-run, and then they allegedly submitted a claim to their insurance company.
Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Paul Derohannesian said that the district attorney’s office planned to offer a plea deal to Lacy Maxwell which would include jail time, but did not offer specifics of such an arrangement; he noted that Lacy Maxwell could face up to 18 years in prison if convicted on all counts.
Derohannesian said Lacy Maxwell struck Swonyoung with enough force to leave a massive dent in the hood of her car, but instead of stopping she continued driving to deliver food to her stepfather. He added that authorities obtained surveillance video that showed Lacy Maxwell surveying the damage to her car before entering her stepfather’s residence.
The chief assistant D.A. said evidence will demonstrate that DNA belonging to Swonyoung was found on the hood of the car, and that paint chips matching Lacy Maxwell’s vehicle were found on Swonyoung’s clothing.
Derohannesian claimed a timeline of the following day showed that at 5:45 a.m., Ryan Maxwell called in sick to his job with the Saugerties Highway Department, and nearly an hour later the couple had a telephone conversation that lasted about 90 seconds. At around 7:00 a.m., Derohannesian said, Lacy Maxwell deliberately drove her car into a tree in Greene County and told police she’d swerved to avoid a small animal on the road, and then two minutes later she called her husband. Then, at around 11 a.m., Derohannesian said Ryan Maxwell called the insurance company covering the car to report the accident from earlier that morning.
Lacy Maxwell was represented at the arraignment by Attorney Tom Melanson, who asked for no bail to be set as the charges stem from after the hit-and-run on January 10 and are not related to Swonyoung’s death. Ryan Maxwell is represented by Mikael Cohn. The couple are both scheduled to return to court on Tuesday, May 28.
In a Saugerties Police Department press release from last week, Chief Robert Nuzzo said his department worked with New York State Police Investigators, Troopers and Collision Reconstruction Unit, the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office, Saugerties and Malden-West Camp Fire Departments, “and the Saugerties community, who provided a tremendous number of leads and video footage from the public that help assist with this investigation.”
Swonyoung’s death was the first of two hit-and-run fatalities in January of this year.
On Monday, January 25, Raymond Rattray, a 21-year-old SUNY New Paltz senior killed in a hit-and-run on Route 208 not far from campus. No arrest has been made in connection to Rattray’s death.
Earlier this month, Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger asked the state to conduct a traffic safety study of Route 208 in the area where Rattray was hit. That request went to the New York State Department of Transportation and was co-signed by New Paltz Town Supervisor Neil Bettez, Village of New Paltz Mayor Tim Rogers and SUNY New Paltz President Darrell Wheeler.
Since January, two Kingston residents died of injuries sustained in a hit-and-run, this time on Friday, March 1 in Marlborough, when 72-year-old Donna Cristallo was pushing 75-year-old Stephen Celuch across Route 9W in his wheelchair. The two were struck by a 2020 Kia Forte state police confirmed was driven by 25-year-old Angela Jennie Fischl of Newburgh. Fischl allegedly fled the scene and was stopped by Town of Newburgh Police on North Plank Road, roughly seven miles south of the accident. No charge has been filed against Fischl as of press time.
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