Driver gets probation for fatal crash

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November 18, 2009

Driver apologizes for passenger death in speeding car

By ANDREA VanVALKENBURG The Press Republican Wed Nov 18, 2009, 03:50 PM EST

PLATTSBURGH — Andrew Bodah apologized in court Tuesday before he was sentenced to probation for causing an accident that killed Victor Pier earlier this year.

"I am deeply sorry for everything I have done," the 20-year-old Chazy man said in Clinton County Court Tuesday afternoon.

Bodah has been facing charges since the May 16 high-speed accident that killed Pier, a 20-year-old, recently married Beekmantown High School graduate.

Authorities said Bodah was driving too fast when he ran through a stop sign at a rural Chazy intersection and slammed into an embankment.

The force of the 2 a.m. crash sent his car flipping several times.

Pier, who was not wearing a seat belt, was thrown from the wreckage and killed upon impact.

Bodah and front-seat passenger, John Munson, 21, suffered minor injuries and have since recovered.

Bodah was initially issued a number of tickets for the crash and was later indicted on manslaughter and assault charges.

He pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide.

Authorities have said that excessive speed, not alcohol or drugs, caused the accident.

During his sentencing, Bodah told Judge Patrick McGill that he will comply "100 percent" with the terms of his five-year probation.

Though Bodah escaped possible jail time for the accident, he has been held at Clinton County Jail for about three weeks before his latest court date for allegedly violating the terms of his pre-trial release.

Bodah must now also pay about $375 in court expenses and about $6,500 in restitution, which will cover Pier's funeral expenses.

Pier's cousin Kristy Rozell and aunt Penny Rhino attended the sentencing.

Pier, who was originally from New Jersey, had married his wife, Nichole, shortly before his death and had been helping to raise her 3-year-old daughter.

He was killed on the couple's five-month wedding anniversary.

E-mail Andrea VanValkenburg at: avanvalkenburg@pressrepublican.com