VT Man Pleads Guilty To Negligent Homicide After I-89 Crash

NORTH HAVERHILL, NH — A Vermont man pleaded guilty to negligent homicide and aggravated driving while intoxicated in a New Hampshire court after a wrong-way drunk driving crash that led to the death of a Rhode Island woman. Daniel Cowdrey, 40, of Hartland, VT, pleaded guilty in Grafton County Superior Court on Dec. 6, 2017, to the charges according to Associated Press and WMUR-TV. He was sentenced to six to 12 years in prison, with one year suspended, according to a plea agreement.

Cowdrey, according to the report, had two scorpion bowls at a nearby restaurant and despite advice from friends, drove from the restaurant. When he got onto I-89, he was driving in north in the southbound lane, struck one vehicle, and then, struck a second vehicle – a head-on crash – which killed Ellynn Koelsch, of Cranston, RI, and injured her son. The crash occurred on May 25, 2016, in Lebanon.

A YouCaring.com fundraising effort raised more than $50,000 toward a memorial fund for the family.

Read the full report on The Washington Post. Watch the video on WMUR.com.

Image of Daniel Cowdrey via NHSP file photo. Ellynn Koelsch image via Performance Physical Therapy/New Hampshire Union Leader.