Driver in fatal Bethany crash enters guilty plea to vehicular manslaughter
The driver in an accident in Bethany in February that claimed the life of an 18-year-old Genesee Community College student entered a guilty plea in County Court this morning to one count of second-degree vehicular manslaughter and DWI with a plea deal that caps her sentence to six months in county jail and five years on probation.
Hannah C. Dibble, 22, of Corfu, will also lose her driver's license and any vehicle that she might drive will be required to have an interlock ignition device.
After going through a series of alcohol-rehabilitation treatments, Dibble was scheduled to appear in court this morning with her attorney Benjamin Bonarigo on a hearing for motions to suppress some evidence in the case, but when the case was called, ADA Will Zickl told Noonan a plea deal had been reached in the case.
Dibble was at the wheel of a 1997 Chevrolet Geo on Feb. 21 when it crossed Route 20 at Molasses Hill Road, Bethany, and was struck by a semi-truck.
There were four passengers in her car at the time, including Alyson D. Krzanak, 18, of Corfu, who died as a result of injuries sustained in the crash. Suffering serious physical injuries in the collision Feb. 21 were James Scherer, 21, Brandon Danser, 22, and Felecia J. Fazzio, 20.
Bonarigo informed the court that Dibble remains in in-patient treatment and will enter a halfway house shortly after the first of the year.
The terms of the sentence are known as "shock probation," giving a defendant a taste of jail and five years of rules to follow and monitoring after release.
Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 23.
After the case was adjourned, Judge Robert C. Noonan told Dibble, "I'm happy to see the recent report (on her progress), especially after the stumble you took early on, so keep on the right track."