Bronx Man Who Killed 4 In Taconic Parkway Crash Sentenced

YORKTOWN, NY — The Bronx man who admitted he caused the 2015 Taconic State Parkway crash that killed four people, including his 2-year-old daughter, received his sentence Wednesday. Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino Jr. said Nerim Sinanovic, 35, who pleaded guilty in August of 2017 to four counts of felony criminally negligent homicide, one count of misdemeanor reckless driving, and one count of driving a vehicle at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions, a violation, will serve a four-month jail term followed by nearly five years of probation.

“Today’s sentencing ends a very sad chapter for two families brought together by tragedy,” Scarpino said. “It addresses the complexities of the evidence presented in this case, and honored the wishes of a family who chose forgiveness and compassion for a defendant who admitted his guilt.”

Scarpino said that, on Aug. 15, 2015 around 2:50 p.m., Sinanovic was driving his BMW SUV northbound on the Taconic in Yorktown. His wife was in the front passenger seat and their two young daughters were in the rear seats.

He told New York State Police that while driving northbound on the Taconic State Parkway he took his hands off the steering wheel, turned toward the back seat and steered with his knees. This caused the vehicle to veer to the right. Sinanovic’s wife then grabbed the wheel and the vehicle veered left and continued up and over the dividing center median between the north and southbound lanes.

The vehicle became airborne, police said, and crashed into a Toyota Camry which was traveling in the southbound lane. There were three family members in that vehicle at the time of the crash. Ledell Mulvaney, 61, and Katherine Mulvaney, 31, both of Brooklyn, sustained massive internal injuries and were pronounced dead within hours. Donald M. Mulvaney, 63, also of Brooklyn, died Sept. 15, 2015, at Westchester Medical Center.

Sinanovic’s children, a 2-year-old and a 1-year-old, who were both in child seats, were ejected from the vehicle. Two-year-old Leona Sinanovic was pronounced dead at the scene.

Two additional vehicles — a Ford Escape and an Acura RSX — were also struck. Those occupants sustained non-life threatening injuries.

A toxicology report indicated Nerim Sinanovic had a level of Xanax in his system over therapeutic levels at the time of the crash.

Photo caption: Nerim Sinanovic. Photo credit: Westchester County District Attorney's Office.