Ex-Carmel officer sentenced to 1 1/2 years for fatal crash

A former Carmel police officer who pleaded guilty to hitting and killing a teaching assistant while speeding and driving drunk received a year and a half sentence on Wednesday.
Richard O'Keefe pleaded guilty back in February to one count of criminally negligent homicide after state police concluded he was speeding and driving drunk when he hit the car Fran Ghelarducci was driving along Route 6 in Mahopac in November 2015.
Fran Ghelarducci's sister spoke outside court following the sentencing, saying the sentence will bring closure to a family she says has already been destroyed.
"I just feel like a sense of relief to get things off my chest,” she said.
According to his defense attorney, Richard O'Keefe has already served part of his sentence.
He will be eligible for parole in September.
He also agreed not to reapply for his license for one year after his release.