Plea Announced In Automobile Fatalities

GOSHEN, NY — Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced Tuesday that Christopher Perrella, 32, of Vernon, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before Orange County Court to aggravated vehicular homicide in connection with the deaths of two women, who were passengers in a car that Perrella had been driving Nov. 4, 2017. At the time of the collision, the defendant was driving a car containing a male friend, that friend’s fiancée and Perrella’s girlfriend.

The two couples had visited a possible wedding venue in the Town of Warwick. Both women were killed when the car crashed into a house on Glenwood Road, in the Town of Warwick. Perrella was charged with driving while his ability to operate the car was impaired by both alcohol and marijuana.

As part of plea agreement, the district attorney’s office announced that it will be recommending that Perrella be sentenced to six to 18 years in prison when he is sentenced Jan. 24, 2019. The court stated it would sentenced Perrella to no more than five to 15 years in state prison.

Hoovler thanked the Town of Warwick Police Department for its investigation and the New York State Police Accident Reconstruction Unit for its aid in the investigation.

“What should have been a trip planning one of the most joyous events in life, turned into a tragedy because of this defendant’s decision to drive while intoxicated,” he said. “Fatalities caused by those who drive while impaired by alcohol or other substances are as tragic as they are preventable.”

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Photo caption: Christopher Perrella. Photo credit: Orange County District Attorney's Office.