Wrong-way driver faces stiffer charges in Hutch accident that killed Greenwich man

A Connecticut man told police he had two beers and two shots of whiskey but wasn't drunk before a wrong-way crash last month that killed a motorist on the Hutchinson River Parkway , according to court documents.

Jose Espinal, 48, of Bridgeport, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to homicide and DWI charges at his arraignment in Westchester County Court.

Espinal was initially charged with vehicular manslaughter and driving while intoxicated in the Sept. 8 crash that killed William Saleeby, 62, of Greenwich, but the indictment added charges including the more serious felony of aggravated vehicular homicide, which is punishable by up to 25 years in prison.

That charge requires a blood alcohol content of 0.18 percent or more. Prosecutors have said Espinal’s BAC was 0.21 percent, nearly three times the legal limit.

The crash just after 5 a.m. was in the northbound lanes of the Hutch, half a mile south of King Street in Rye Brook. Espinal's Toyota Highlander slammed into Saleeby's Toyota Camry, which burst into flames. Saleeby was pronounced dead at the scene.

Espinal is suspected of drinking at a bar in upper Manhattan after getting off work as a cook at a midtown club late the night before.

Investigators suspect he got on the northbound parkway going south at King Street, but have not pinpointed whether it was at the parkway entrance on the Greenwich or Rye Brook side of the street.

Seven hours after the crash, Espinal told Westchester County police that he had gotten lost and was using his GPS when the other car hit him, according to court documents. He said he takes that route five times a week and never gets lost and insisted he wasn't drunk despite the alcohol he said he had consumed.

Defense lawyer Robert Osuna declined to request bail and state Supreme Court Justice Larry Schwartz ordered Espinal back to the Westchester County jail until his next court appearance in November.

William Saleeby 'touched the lives of countless people'

The victim had two sisters and three brothers and cared for his elderly mother. Three of his siblings were in court for the arraignment. A brother declined to comment afterwards.

Saleeby, known as Will, was a 1980 graduate of Greenwich High School, where he was a multi-sport star athlete, musician, actor and Student Body president, according to an online obituary. He was a football and baseball teammate of classmate Steve Young, the Hall of Fame quarterback, and went on the play football at Harvard University.

He worked for many years in Manhattan commercial real estate investment and management "before pursuing his lifelong passion for music, entertaining many with his gifts as a singer, horn player, and arranger for his band," according to his obituary.

"He loved a homemade Southern meal and playing the piano at holidays with family and friends gathered around singing," the family wrote in the obituary. "Will touched the lives of countless people. Our son, brother, and uncle was a great man full of heart, character, intellect, and talent. He will be missed forever."

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Wrong-way driver faces stiffer charges in Hutch accident that killed Greenwich man