Pine Bush man sentenced 3-9 years in crash that left teenager paralyzed

GOSHEN - A Pine Bush man was sentenced to three to nine years in state prison Tuesday after he previously pleaded guilty to vehicular assault in a crash that left a teenager paralyzed .

Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler announced the sentence for Chauncey Smith, 23, of Pine Bush, which was pronounced in Orange County Court.

Hoovler said Smith pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular assault, a felony, for allegedly crashing his vehicle into another car while he was impaired by marijuana.

As alleged in documents filed and statements made in court, Smith was driving his motor vehicle west on Route 17K in the town of Newburgh when the crash happened on Aug. 14, 2023.

Smith's vehicle crossed over the double yellow line and he collided head-on with another vehicle that was traveling eastbound.

A 15-year-old inside the eastbound vehicle suffered injuries which resulted in the teen being paralyzed. Another person in the eastbound vehicle suffered serious physical injuries.

Inmate death: She died in the Orange County jail in 2023. Why Niki Capaci's family has filed a lawsuit

According to Hoovler, Smith admitted to police that he had smoked marijuana prior to driving, and a subsequent analysis of his blood confirmed the presence of marijuana.

At the plea proceedings, Smith admitted to recklessly driving his vehicle while impaired by the consumption of marijuana, and that he had caused serious physical injury to two people, Hoovler said.

"The lives of the innocent victims in this case were unfairly altered as a result of the defendant's selfish actions," Hoovler said in a statement released by his office. "This case highlights the devastating consequences of drug-impaired driving. I cannot stress enough that drugs and alcohol are dangerous and deadly companions to driving."

Smith's attorney, Christopher Renfroe, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Times Herald-Record and the Poughkeepsie Journal. Reach him at mrandall@th-record.com.

This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Pine Bush man sentenced 3-9 years in crash that left teenager paralyzed