SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — A 25-year-old central New York man has pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter and driving while intoxicated for a crash last year that killed a man riding with him.
In return for his plea, Michael Stern, of Elbridge, will receive 2 to 6 years in prison.
Stern admitted in court Wednesday that he was drunk when the minivan he was driving collided with a milk tanker in the Onondaga County town of Skaneateles (skin-ee-AT’-luhs), 15 miles southwest of Syracuse. State police said Stern’s blood alcohol content was 0.17, more than twice the legal limit.
Stern’s passenger, 26-year-old Patrick Hallinan, also of Elbridge, was killed. The two had been drinking at a party and were on their way back from picking up wooden pallets for a bonfire when the crash occurred.
