Charges have been upgraded for an alleged drunk driver involved in a fatal accident last summer on the Saw Mill River Parkway.
Eleni Castillos, a 29-year-old woman, was arraigned Tuesday in Westchester County Court on charges including first- and second-degree vehicular manslaughter for her involvement in the 2022 death of 22-year-old Adrianel Ramos Leconte of Manhattan.
Castillos, who is originally from the Bronx but was living in Florida at the time of the accident, pleaded not guilty to the upgraded charges.
Good Samaritan Gone Wrong
Castillos’ charges stem from an accident that occurred on July 1st, 2022 after she crashed her car near McLean Avenue in Yonkers. According to Westchester County Police reports at the time, Castillos was driving northbound with a young child passenger at around 1:15 a.m. when she lost control of her vehicle.
Castillos’ 2016 Hyundai sedan hit a guardrail on the passenger side, crossed traffic, hit the median, and spun around until it stopped—facing the wrong direction—in the right-side lane.
Leconte, the passenger of a 2022 Honda CRV and witness to the crash, stopped to help. As he stood by the passenger side of Castillos’ car to assist the young passenger, a third vehicle crashed into Castillos’ car and killed Leconte.
At the time, Castillos was charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated—a felony that considers potential harm to the young passenger in the car. Testing later revealed that Castillos’ blood alcohol content was nearly three times the legal limit and above the .18 percent threshold for an alcohol level-related aggravated DWI charge.
Fault and Appropriate Charges
While this case is unusual since Castillos did not kill Leconte, prosecutors are likely seeking upgraded charges based on New York case law which outlines that while a defendant may not have been the sole cause of a person’s death, their actions directly contributed to it.
Last week, a Westchester grand jury indicted Castillos on upgraded charges of first-degree vehicular manslaughter and accused her of causing Leconte’s death due to intoxication above a .18 percent blood alcohol level.
Peter Gerstenzang, an attorney from Albany who specializes in DWI suits, suggests that while the upgraded charges could see justice for the victim and closure for his family, proving fault in such a case will be difficult.
“This one is a close call,” he said in an interview with LoHud. “It will depend on the nitty gritty details of what happened there. […] The passage of time (from the first accident to the second) will be key.”
Castillos faces a minimum of 1 to 3 years and a maximum of 5 to 15 years in prison if convicted of the upgraded charges.
