Teen Driver Pleads Guilty in Death of Beloved Yorktown Man
A Yorktown teen ager could face up to four years in jail after pleading guilty Tuesday to criminally negligent homicide and other charges in the November 2012 death of beloved Yorktown resident Randy Zapakin.
Brett Nelson, 19, of Gomer Street, who tested positive for marijuana following the November 8, 2012 accident on Farm Walk Road, was remanded to Westchester County Jail to await sentencing on October 1.
According to the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, at approximately 8 p.m. on November 8, Nelson was driving a 2002 Chevrolet Cavalier when he admitted to crossing over the left side of the two-way roadway, passing another vehicle, and striking Zapakian, 57, who was walking his dog near his residence.
After striking and killing Zapakin, Nelson’s vehicle drove off the roadway and traveled approximately 100 feet before hitting a tree. One of the first police officers on the scene smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle, and the drug was subsequently found inside the center console of the car.
Besides criminally negligent homicide, a class E felony, Nelson was charged with one count of reckless driving, a misdemeanor, one count of unlawful possession of marijuana, one count of driving to the left side of center of roadway, and one count of failure to exercise due care to avoid a pedestrian.
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