Oklahoma woman pleads guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide in town of Newburgh crash
GOSHEN - An Oklahoma woman pleaded guilty Wednesday in Orange County Court to aggravated vehicular homicide in connection with a 2023 crash in the town of Newburgh that killed one person and injured several others.
Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler said the defendant, Nicholle Hoke, 45, of Shawnee, Oklahoma, told police that at the time of the crash she was driving to her hotel from a bar in New Paltz, where she had been drinking.
According to documents filed and statements made in court, Hoke crashed her 2023 Kia Forte into a 2021 Honda CRV on Route 9W in the town of Newburgh at approximately 10 p.m. on June 24, 2023. The Honda was driven by Samuel Daniel-Magos, 50, whose town of residence was not available.
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According to Town of Newburgh police, Daniel-Magos was northbound on Route 9W. He saw Hoke's Kia approaching, driving southbound in the northbound lane, and tried to pull off the road but was unable to avoid the collision. Daniel-Magos and several passengers were injured.
A woman in the rear seat of the Honda was unconscious when the first police officers arrived on the scene, and they began providing life-saving measures for her.
The woman, identified by police as Laura Chavez-Aralos, 61, of Kingston, was taken to Montefiore St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital in the city of Newburgh, where she died from her injuries.
Hoke also was taken to the hospital. Hoovler said a warrant was signed for blood to be drawn from Hoke. Her blood alcohol content was 0.16 percent, or twice the legal limit, Hoovler said.
At the plea proceedings, Hoke admitted that she caused the death of one person and the serious physical injury of another person while having a blood alcohol content over 0.08 percent, Hoovler said.
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"Driving while intoxicated is a senseless, incredibly dangerous and criminal act," Hoovler said in a statement released by his office. "Unfortunately, the lives of the victims in this case and their families are forever altered because of the choices made by this defendant."
Hoke's attorney, Orrin A. Fullerton, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Hoke is scheduled to be sentenced on July 23. Under the plea agreement announced when she entered her guilty plea, Hoovler said it is expected that she will be sentenced to 4 to 12 years in state prison.
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: Newburgh fatal crash update: Guilty plea in 2023 Route 9W collision
