Driver Guilty In DWI Crash That Pinned Baby Girl Under Car

YONKERS, NY — The driver responsible for the crash that sent shockwaves through the Hudson Valley and across the country entered guilty pleas to a laundry list of felony and misdemeanor charges on Tuesday.

Yonkers resident David Poncurak pled guilty to the crimes connected to hitting a mother and her infant child with his car as he crashed through a Yonkers storefront while intoxicated, Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocah announced.

The 43-year-old pleaded guilty to felony aggravated vehicular assault. He also admitted to misdemeanors, including driving while intoxicated, driving while ability impaired by the combined influence of drugs or of alcohol and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the third degree.

Poncurak faces a sentence range of 5 to 15 years in prison.

On July 23, 2021, shortly before 8:30 a.m., Poncurak hit a mother and her infant daughter with his car as he crashed through the storefront of a barbershop on Lake Avenue in Yonkers. The crash trapped both victims under the vehicle. Yonkers Police, with the help of bystanders, immediately lifted the car off the victims. Poncurak had a blood alcohol content above the legal limit and illegal narcotics in his system at the time of the collision, according to prosecutors.

Both victims were treated at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, where the mother underwent surgery for a fractured femur. The infant sustained a fractured skull and severe burns.

"David Poncurak’s decision to drive under the influence of alcohol and drugs put a mother and her infant child at severe risk," Rocah said. "I applaud the extraordinary work of the Yonkers Police Department, the bystanders, and the ambulance crew who sprang into action to assist during this harrowing event. These victims are alive today because of the heroic efforts of these brave individuals."

The outcome might have been far worse if two Yonkers police officers, Paul Samoyedny and Rocco Fusco had not happened to be eating breakfast at a nearby bagel shop and witnessed the tragic events unfold. Body camera footage shows the cops rushing to help and finding that the baby was pinned under the car.

The body cam footage, released by YPD shows the cops, with the help of bystanders and the injured shop owner, lifting the car and quickly freeing the mother and child from the wreckage. The police were able to provide critical first aid until EMTs arrived.

"It is always a tragedy when someone is injured by the reckless and criminal acts of another person and that is only amplified when those injured include an infant," Yonkers Police Commissioner John Mueller said in a statement at the time lauding the officers involved. "Luckily, two veteran officers of Yonkers' Finest just happened to be getting breakfast next door and quickly took action along with members of the community to rescue a child trapped under the vehicle and render aid to her mother. The actions taken are nothing short of heroic. The individual arrested in this incident will now have to face the consequences of his alleged behavior."

Poncurak is scheduled to be sentenced on January 13.