Retired trooper pleads not guilty in fatal crash
LITTLE VALLEY — A retired State Police investigator Friday pleaded not guilty to vehicular manslaughter in the head-on crash on Route 219 on April 26 that claimed the life of a Bradford, Pa., woman.
David M. O’Brien, 68, of Allegany, pleaded not guilty to a four-count indictment during a video arraignment before State Supreme Court Justice Richard
C. Kloch, supervising judge for criminal matters for the 8th Judicial District. It was the first such video arraignment for Cattaraugus County Court, with Kloch in his Lockport office.
The results of a grand jury probe into the fatal crash on Route 219, just south of Exit 23 of the Southern Tier Expressway, were reported in an indictment presented by Chautauqua County District Attorney David
A. Foley, acting as a special prosecutor.
O’Brien was indicted on charges of second-degree vehicular manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and two misdemeanor counts of driving while intoxicated.
The victim, Wendy J. Karnes, 38, was driving north on Route 219 in the Town of Carrollton, on her way to work at the Seneca Allegany Casino in Salamanca, at about 10:40
p. m., when her car was hit head-on. O’Brien was also headed to work at the casino. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
O’Brien was taken by Cattaraugus County sheriff’s deputies to Olean General Hospital for a blood-alcohol test, which measured 0.08 percent — the legal limit for intoxication, according to the indictment.
The case was adjourned to Aug. 1 for further motions.
Kloch and Foley were appointed to the case after two Cattaraugus County judges — Larry M. Himelein and Michael Nenno — and District Attorney Edward M. Sharkey were recused because they had worked with the defendant previously.
News Staff Reporter Matt Gryta contributed to this report.
