Arrest In Fatal Weekend Hit-and-Run

BUCHANAN, NY — Westchester County Police have charged a Buchanan man in connection to a fatal hit-and-run incident that occurred over the weekend in the village. Eric Werner, 44, of Seward St., was arrested Sunday.

He was taken into custody about 5:30 p.m., booked at county police headquarters and held overnight pending arraignment Monday. Arraignment on a charge of Leaving the Scene of an Accident Resulting in Death, a felony, is scheduled for 2 p.m. in Buchanan Village Court.

Werner is accused of fleeing in a 2014 Jeep Cherokee that struck and killed Joseph Orichello, 63, of Buchanan on Albany Post Road in the early hours on Saturday morning.

Buchanan Police were notified at 12:48 a.m. that a man was lying in the roadway just north of Bleakley Avenue. The victim was found to be deceased and the apparent victim of a hit-and-run.

Westchester County Police were asked to join the investigation and detectives from the General Investigations Unit responded as well as crime scene detectives from the Forensic Investigation Unit. Patrol officers from the Accident Investigation team also assisted at the scene.

Detectives developed information about a possible suspect and suspect vehicle. Werner was taken into custody on Sunday at his home. The vehicle involved was recovered elsewhere.

“I would like to commend our detectives and the Buchanan Police Department for their effective work on this case that led to an arrest quickly,” Public Safety Commissioner Thomas A. Gleason said.