Syracuse, NY - A Liverpool man admitted his guilt today in the death of a pedestrian in a hit-run crash in the city the day of the St. Patrick's Day parade in March. Glenn A. Allen, 39, of 4771 Casimir Circle, pleaded guilty before Onondaga County Judge Anthony Aloi to felony counts of second-degree vehicular manslaughter and leaving the...
Accused hit-run driver Glenn A. Allen (center) leaves Onondaga County Court with defense lawyer Michael Vavonese (left) and the Rev. Charles Major of St. Joseph the Worker Church in Liverpool after a pre-trial conference in August with Judge Anthony Aloi in the death of a city pedestrian in March.Syracuse, NY - A Liverpool man admitted his guilt today in the death of a pedestrian in a hit-run crash in the city the day of the St. Patrick's Day parade in March.
Glenn A. Allen, 39, of 4771 Casimir Circle, pleaded guilty before Onondaga County Judge Anthony Aloi to felony counts of second-degree vehicular manslaughter and leaving the scene of an incident without reporting it.
Aloi promised him a sentence of at least one to three years in state prison and no more than 1 1/3 to four years. Allen could have faced a maximum penalty of 2 1/3 to seven years behind bars.
In pleading guilty to the vehicular manslaughter charge, Allen admitted he was driving drunk on Catherine Street March 13 and that he caused the death of Neil Epstein. Epstein, 67, of 628 Catherine St., was walking in the roadway in the 600 block of Catherine Street about 8:30 p.m. when he was struck by a northbound vehicle.
A neighbor told police she heard a thud, looked out her window and saw someone get out of a car and run back to where someone was lying in the street. The person then got back in the vehicle and drove away, she said.
Authorities said Allen drove home, concealed his Chevrolet Cobalt and called 911 to report seeing a man down on Turtle Street. Police managed to trace that call back to Allen and he was arrested about two hours after the crash after he admitted he had been drinking at Clark's Ale House before driving home.
Charges were upgraded from vehicular assault to vehicular manslaughter when Epstein died the following day.
"It's a tragic situation for everyone involved, especially Mr. Epstein and his family," defense lawyer Michael Vavonese said as he left court today. "My client has no prior criminal record. He's devastated by this event."
According to Vavonese, there had been a "challenging question" about whether Allen's intake of alcohol actually caused the accident given evidence the victim was walking in the street in the dark at the time he was run down.
As for the defendant's conduct after the crash, Vavonese said Allen "panicked." The lawyer also said emergency crews were summoned to the accident scene within about a minute of the crash because of a neighbor's prompt call to 911 so Epstein received immediate medical attention.
Allen decided to accept responsibility, enter the guilty pleas and try to move on with his life, Vavonese said.
Aloi allowed Allen to remain free pending sentencing Nov. 12. Like previous court appearances, Allen was accompanied to and from court today by the Rev. Charles Major of St. Joseph the Worker Church in Liverpool.
Vavonese said Allen is an active member of the church.