Mahopac woman sentenced to 6-18 years for deadly DUI crash

Authorities say Deperna hit and killed 61-year-old James Crecco Sr. on South Lake Boulevard in Mahopac and left his body on the side of the road last June.

Wednesday would've been Crecco's 62nd birthday, so his family marked the somber milestone to speak out about the consequences of drinking and driving.

"Nothing is bringing my father back. We're going to have to live with this for the rest of our lives," said son Patrick Crecco. "You take so much away from killing somebody for nothing."

"You're impacting another person's life when you make a decision like that and people need to be held accountable for their actions at the end of the day. I would hate for this to happen to another family," said James Crecco Jr.

Deperna previously pleaded guilty to a separate DWI charge in Greene County 10 days before the fatal crash in Putnam.

"No amount of time served is going to be enough time for my dad's life being taken away," said Patrick Crecco.

Authorities say Deperna was also drunk behind the wheel when police arrested her the day after killing Crecco.

Deperna's sentencing follows a recent series of DWI-related sentences that were handed out in the Hudson Valley.

Two weeks ago, 18-year-old Joseph Debellis got six months in county jail for driving drunk and killing a Suffern classmate.

On Monday, Somers' Jamie Paucar was sentenced to at least eight years in prison for a drunk driving wrong way crash on I-287 that killed two.

On Tuesday, Yonkers' David Poncurak found out he'll be behind bars for up to seven and a half years for driving under the influence during the crash in which pinned a mother and her infant under his car.

One third of all fatal crashes are alcohol-related, according to New York State Police.

Data released this month from the U.S. Department of Transportation showed more than 11,000 Americans were killed in alcohol-related crashes in 2020 -- the most since 2008.