Retired Cop Offered Plea in Fatal Route 6 Crash

Editor's Note: An agreement with prosecutors has been reached for Richard O'Keefe. Dutchess County Judge Edward McLoughlin is reviewing the plea deal and has scheduled a hearing Feb. 22. Information was incorrect in the original version of this report. Patch regrets the error.

MAHOPAC, NY — A plea deal has been offered to Richard O'Keefe in the fatal crash on Route 6 in 2015 that killed a beloved Somers teaching assistant.

A reduced charge of criminally negligent homicide was tentatively agreed to in January, and he turned himself in at the Putnam County Jail.

The well-known retired police officer was originally charged with Aggravated Vehicular Homicide, a Class B Felony, Vehicular Manslaughter in the 2nd Degree, a Class D Felony, and Driving While Intoxicated, an Unclassified Misdemeanor.

The Mahopac resident was arrested Nov. 15, the day after the nighttime crash in Carmel. State police assistance was requested by the Carmel Police Department who had made the initial response.

Part of the tragedy was that O'Keefe was not the cause of the crash, according to police reconstruction of the accident.

Police said Anna Estrada, 53, of Carmel, exited a parking area to make a left-hand turn onto Route 6 south. Estrada failed to yield the right of way to the Dodge Caravan driven by Richard O’Keefe, which was traveling north on Route 6.

O’Keefe’s minivan subsequently struck the Jeep on the drivers’ side, causing it to overturn. A third vehicle, operated southbound by Philip Kossin of Mahopac, was also struck as a result of the crash. Kossin was not injured.

Frances Ghelarducci of Mahopac was a passenger in Estrada's SUV. She was pronounced dead at the scene.