Headlines: Deadly DWI crash sentencing, drug dealer pleads guilty, Saugerties domestic dispute

Here are some stories making headlines across the Hudson Valley.

News 12 Staff

Apr 6, 2023, 10:16 AM

Updated 551 days ago

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Here are some stories making headlines across the Hudson Valley.
A Pelham woman has been sentenced to prison time for a drunk driving crash that killed two passengers. Bethzy Higueros, 23, will spend one to three years in prison after pleading guilty to vehicular manslaughter and driving while intoxicated, according to the Westchester District Attorney's Office. Officials say Higueros was driving over 80 mph on Boston Post Road in Mamaroneck in April 2021 when she drove through a red light and hit a utility pole. The vehicle then caught fire in the early morning wreck. Veronica Diaz Ayala, 20, of New Rochelle, died at the scene. Itzel Oliveros, 19, also of New Rochelle, died two months later. The DA's office says Higueros had a blood alcohol content level of .17 at the time of the collision.
The drug dealer charged with selling fentanyl-laced heroin to actor Michael K. Williams could spend up to 40 years in prison. Irvin Cartagena pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute heroin and fentanyl. Investigators say the drug trafficking organization sold drugs out of Brooklyn and Manhattan from 2020 to 2022. The group continued to sell the laced drugs after Williams' death according to prosecutors. Cartagena faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a max sentence of 40 years behind bars.
A Saugerties man is facing a reckless endangerment charge related to an alleged domestic dispute. Police say Michael Lane was arrested following an investigation. He was arraigned at the Town of Saugerties Justice Court and released on his own recognizance. An order of protection was issued on behalf of the victim. Lane is due back in court in two weeks.