A former New York City police sergeant was sentenced Oct. 28 to four to 12 years in prison for a wrong-way crash on the Taconic State Parkway that killed Manuel Boitel, the New York attorney general’s office announced. This follows the Tiffany Howell sentencing.
Tiffany Howell, 48, of Warwick in Orange County, received concurrent sentences, meaning the prison terms run at the same time rather than one after another. Her driver’s license has been revoked, and she waived her right to appeal, according to the Oct. 28 sentencing announcement.
Guilty plea preceded sentencing
Howell pleaded guilty Aug. 19 to aggravated vehicular homicide, a class B felony, and second-degree manslaughter, a class C felony. She entered the plea before Judge Anne B. Bianchi in Westchester County Court.
At that hearing, Bianchi said she would impose a four-to-12-year prison term, the attorney general’s office reported at the time. The Oct. 28 announcement confirms the sentence was imposed.
The January crash
Howell was off duty when she drove south in the parkway’s northbound lanes in Westchester County at about 11:37 p.m. on Jan. 22, according to the attorney general’s office.
Authorities said she was traveling more than 50 mph and had a blood-alcohol content of at least 0.18 when she struck Boitel’s car head-on. Boitel was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead shortly after midnight following the crash.
Why the state handled the case
The case falls within a statewide oversight system that also covers police-related deaths in Utica and the Mohawk Valley. Under New York Executive Law Section 70-b, the attorney general’s Office of Special Investigation investigates deaths that may have been caused by police officers or certain peace officers, and prosecutes when warranted.
The law can apply whether an officer was on duty or off duty, and whether the person who died was in custody. The office’s published process explains that it first assesses whether a death, a covered officer and a possible connection between the officer’s actions and the death bring an incident within its authority.
