Drunk Driver Fleeing Police Murders Hudson Valley Mother

A drunk Hudson Valley man murdered a local mother while fleeing police at over 100 MPH, causing a horrific accident.

On Wednesday, a jury in Ulster County convicted Ryan Williams, 29, of Poughkeepsie on charges of murder, four counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, unlawful fleeing from a police officer, two counts of assault and aggravated operation of a motor vehicle.

On July 1, 2018, Williams fled police in a Porsche Cayenne at a high rate of speed while highly intoxicated on Route 299 in the Town of Lloyd.

While fleeing police, William drove into New Paltz and at the intersection of Route 299 and South Street he crossed into oncoming traffic and smashed into a Ford F15 pick-up truck.

The driver of the pickup truck, 39-year-old Danielle M. Pecoraro of New Paltz, was pronounced dead on the scene.

Two other people, Pecoraro's daughter, a passenger in the pickup, and a woman in a car behind the pickup truck, suffered serious physical injuries, according to the Ulster County District Attorney's Office.

According to the Ulster County District Attorney's Office, before the crash police received a 911 complaint of a man operating a Porshe Cayenne in an erratic manner on Route 9W. The Town of Lloyd Police Department pulled Williams’ vehicle over as it turned from 9W onto Route 299. As the officer approached Williams’ vehicle, witnesses observed Williams throw a glass object out of the driver’s window and flee, at an excessively high rate of speed, from the officer. Traveling at speeds at times in excess of 120 MPH, and passing vehicles on the right shoulder, Williams approached the South Street intersection before losing control of his vehicle and killing Pecoraro.

The force of the impact tore the Porsche in half and crushed the pickup truck.

Video at the scene following the accident can be seen below

Williams’s license was revoked for a prior alcohol-related charge and at the time of the fatal accident and he was driving without a valid license. Williams’ BAC at the time of the crash was .33, officials say.

Subscribe to the Hudson Valley Post’s Newsletter

In convicting Williams of murder, the jury found he acted with depraved indifference to human life.

Spot a typo? Let us know.