Sentence For Woman Who Smoked Cocaine Before Fatal Crash

GOSHEN, NY — The Newburgh woman who pleaded guilty to killing a local surgeon while she was driving under the influence of drugs found out how long she will spend in prison.

Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler said Tuesday that Ezzial Williams, 38, of Newburgh, was sentenced to three and one half to seven years in prison.

She had pleaded guilty Feb. 14 to second-degree vehicular manslaughter before a jury trial was set to begin.

Hoovler said the sentence imposed was the maximum permitted under the law.

According to prosecutors, Williams was driving a car on Route 32 in the town of Cornwall Oct. 10, 2021, in excess of the posted speed limit when she crossed over the double yellow line and crashed into a car driven by a local vascular surgeon, who died as a result.

Before getting in her car, Williams had smoked cocaine, some of which was recovered from a crack pipe found in her belongings after the crash.

Police determined that the surgeon’s car was in the proper lane of travel and that the crash was caused by Williams’s impairment, along with her speed and reckless driving.

Hoovler said the case was another example of the horrifying outcomes often seen when combining drugs and driving.

“We lost an innocent member of our community through this defendant’s selfish and tragic choices,” he said. “Drugged driving is a choice, not an accident.”

Hoovler also said he hoped the prison sentence in the case serves to deter others from making such a dangerous decision.