Nearly six months after he was arrested in connection with the January hit and run death of SUNY New Paltz student Raymond Rattray, 33-year-old Ty Kobelt of Gardiner, pleaded guilty to the charges of Manslaughter in the Second Degree and Leaving the Scene of an Incident Without Reporting.
According to authorities, Rattray was walking from class to his off-campus apartment on the southbound side of Route 208 between Hawk Drive and Cross Creek Road on Tuesday, January 23 when he was struck by a dark-colored sedan. Police said the vehicle fled the scene after sustaining damage to the front end on the passenger side. At 1:16 p.m. on Wednesday, January 24, Rattray’s body was found roughly 20 feet from the road in a wooded area after receiving reports of a “deceased subject” just off the SUNY campus.
On Monday, March 25, Ulster County Sheriff Juan Figueroa announced the arrest of Kobelt, identified as the driver of the 2018 Honda Accord that struck Rattray. According to the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office, detectives were able to identify Kobelt’s vehicle within the first 15 hours of their investigation, and that they also found that Kobelt attempted to conceal the damage to his vehicle. The DA’s office claims that Kobelt had “consumed cannabis” shortly before driving his vehicle, and that he was also on his cell phone at the time of the incident.
On Wednesday, September 18, Kobelt pleaded guilty before Judge Bryan Rounds in Ulster County Court, and was remanded without bail to the Ulster County Jail; his sentencing is scheduled for December 19, 2024.
“Today’s conviction will never bring the life back of Raymond Rattray,” said Figueroa in a DA’s office press release. “This was a senseless, careless and preventable travesty; a total disregard of human life and the law. So many lives were changed forever that day, pray for their families. We must all know that life is precious. I thank the community, law enforcement and the district attorney’s office for assuring that the voice of the victims are heard.”
In the same press release, Ulster County DA Emmanuel Nneji said, “We all need to recognize that motor vehicles are dangerous and can be very deadly when operated under the influence of any substance or distraction of any kind. Every driver and operator of a dangerous instrument or weapon has a moral and legal responsibility to every pedestrian and others. Let’s care more and reduce these tragedies, because thoughts and prayers certainly are not stopping them.”
Deputy chief ADA Paul Derohannesian is prosecuting the case. Kobelt is represented by Mark Formichelli of the Dutchess County Public Defender’s Office.
The guilty plea was the latest update in a trio of Ulster County hit and run fatalities early in 2024. Arrests were made in all three incidents.
On Tuesday, August 20, Malden-on-Hudson resident Lacy Maxwell pleaded guilty to Leaving the Scene of an Incident Resulting in Death and the felony of Insurance Fraud in the 3rd Degree. Ryan Maxwell, Lacy Maxwell’s husband, pleaded guilty to Insurance Fraud in the 5th Degree for trying to help her in misleading the insurance company and covering up the actual cause of the damage to their car. Sentencing is scheduled for Friday, November 15.
On January 10, Starllie Swonyoung and an unnamed friend were walking on Route 9W between Malden-on-Hudson and Saugerties at approximately 5:10 p.m. when Swonyoung was struck by a 2021 Subaru operated by Lacy Maxwell, who 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 staged an accident to cover up for the damage sustained to the vehicle from the hit-and-run, and then submitted a claim to their insurance company.
In March, 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.
Derohannesian is also prosecuting that case. Lacy Maxwell is represented by Kingston attorney Tom Melanson and Ryan Maxwell is represented by Poughkeepsie attorney Mikael Cohn.
And on Friday, May 17, Newburgh resident Jennie Fischl was arrested by the New York State Police’s Troop F and charged with two felony counts of Leaving the Scene of an Accident Resulting in Death. The charges can carry a maximum of between 2 1/3-to-7 years in prison. Fischl is currently being held without bail at the Ulster County Jail.
In the evening of Friday, March 1 in Marlborough, 72-year-old Donna Cristallo was pushing 75-year-old Stephen Celuch across Route 9W in his wheelchair. The pair were struck by a 2020 Kia Forte state police confirmed was driven by Fischl.
Fischl allegedly fled the scene and was stopped by Town of Newburgh Police on North Plank Road, roughly seven miles south of the accident.
According to police, Celuch was pronounced dead at the scene, and Cristallo died later that day at St. Luke’s Hospital in Newburgh.
More recently, the driver in a hit and run in Woodstock that left a bicyclist in critical but stable condition has yet to be found. On Thursday, August 29, 68-year-old Kingston resident Mark Segall was riding his bicycle along Route 375 in Woodstock near the intersection of Maverick Road when he was struck by a pick-up truck at around 9 p.m.. According to New York State Police, Segall was transported to Mid-Hudson Regional Hospital in Poughkeepsie.
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