SCHROON — A West Nyack man has been charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident on Interstate 87 here.
Joseph F. Bohunicky Jr., 34, was taken into custody Tuesday evening following a lengthy investigation by Lewis-based State Police personnel in conjunction with the Troop B Collision Reconstruction Unit.
Mary Morrissey, 65, died on Nov. 20, 2011, after the 2000 Chevrolet Prizm sedan she was riding in was struck from behind by a 2001 Toyota Camry that police say was driven by Bohunicky.
The crash occurred just before the Ticonderoga exit in the northbound lane. The Prizm went off the east side of the road, hit a guardrail then plowed into the median and struck an earthen embankment.
Morrissey and her brother, Thomas LaFountain, both of Mechanicville, were on their way to visit their sister in AuSable Forks.
Police said Bohunicky fled; Morrissey was pronounced dead at the site of the accident. LaFountain, 59, suffered cuts on his face; he wasn’t hospitalized.
State Police impounded a car the next day that was suspected to be the one involved in the crash.
The State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation at Haverstraw in Rockland County arrested Bohunicky on a warrant issued by Essex County Court Judge Richard B. Meyer.
Police said numerous witnesses who viewed media coverage of the crash contacted authorities to give their accounts of what happened.
“We got a lot of leads,” said Troop B Bureau of Criminal Investigation Capt. Robert LaFountain on Wednesday. “That, combined with the Reconstruction Unit and the evidence they secured, tied it in nicely.”
Bohunicky was arraigned Wednesday morning in Essex County Court before Meyer. He was taken to Essex County Jail in lieu of $5,000 cash or $10,000 bond.
He is scheduled to reappear in Essex County Court at 2 p.m. Oct. 4.
Email Miranda Orso: morso@pressrepublican.com
