Clifton Reynolds will get one to three years in state prison.
Onondaga County Sheriff Kevin Walsh inspects the Nissan Pathfinder that crashed into Pier 57 restaurant May 19. Clifton Reynolds today admitted causing that crash and a head-on crash the next day. Syracuse, NY - A Baldwinsville man called "a menace on the highway" after crashing one vehicle into the entrance of a Clay restaurant one day in May and nearly killing another motorist in a separate head-on crash the next day admitted his guilt today.
Clifton Reynolds, 35, of 8406 Gaskin Road, pleaded guilty before Onondaga County Judge William Walsh to a single felony count of driving while his ability was impaired by drugs in a May 19 incident.
Authorities said that's the day Reynolds was driving his girlfriend's Nissan Pathfinder on Route 57 in Clay when he struck another vehicle and then crashed into the entrance of the Pier 57 restaurant.
Clifton ReynoldsAbout 31 hours later, authorities said Reynolds was driving another of his girlfriend's vehicles on River Road in Lysander when he crossed the middle of the road and struck an oncoming vehicle head-on. The driver of the second vehicle, 23-year-old Richard Zimmerman of Cramer Road in Lysander, was critically injured in the crash.
Reynolds will be pleading guilty in Lysander town court to a single charge of reckless driving in that case, according to the plea deal spelled out by Walsh in court today.
Walsh will be sentencing Reynolds to serve one to three years in state prison for the DWAI-drugs conviction. Reynolds will be sentenced to a concurrent penalty of one year in jail for the reckless driving conviction in the second case.
Walsh set sentencing for Sept. 28. No court date has yet been set for the reckless driving plea in Lysander, according to Senior Assistant District Attorney Christopher Bednarski.
Both Bednarski and defense lawyer Michael Vavonese said the reckless driving charge was the most serious charge Reynolds could have faced in the second crash despite the severity of the injuries Zimmerman suffered.
There was no evidence Reynolds was under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of that second crash, the prosecutor said.
"There was no evidence of anything other than reckless driving," Bednarski said. "There certainly was no evidence of anything intentional about it."
According to Bednarski, Reynolds was driving under the influence of cocaine, marijuana, hydrocodone and several other drugs when he crashed into the entrance of Pier 57 in the first crash.
"He's looking forward to getting the treatment he desperately needs so this doesn't ever happen again," Vavonese said of his client's willingness to undergo substance abuse treatment in prison.
Richard ZimmermanVavonese said Reynolds is "overwhelmingly remorseful" for the injuries he caused Zimmerman in the second crash.
Bednarski said the plea deal was explained to Zimmerman in advance. The prosecutor said Zimmerman was satisfied with the way the case was being worked out.
The prosecutor said no amount of prison time for Reynolds was going to compensate Zimmerman for the severe injuries he suffered. But Reynolds wasn't facing any more serious charges in the second crash because of the absence of any alcohol or drugs in his system at the time, Bednarski said.
Reynolds faced a maximum penalty of 1 1/3 to four years for the DWAI-drugs charge in the Pier 57 crash, Bednarski said.
In accepting Reynolds' guilty plea today, Walsh left open the possibility of ordering Reynolds to have an ignition interlock system installed on any vehicles he owns or drives when he gets out of prison. But Bednarski said that won't be happening because that new section of Leandra's Law that recently went into effect does not apply to motorists convicted of driving under the influence of drugs.
Reynolds has a prior DWI conviction from 2001 and was driving without a license at the time of both crashes in May, authorities said. Sheriff Kevin Walsh called Reynolds at that time "a menace on the highway."
Reynolds is being held in the Justice Center jail without bail pending sentencing.