Man Faces DWI Felony Charges After Crash That Injured 19YO: Police

CARMEL, NY — A Mahopac driver with previous DWI convictions is accused of seriously injuring a 19-year-old on a motorcycle while driving drunk in his second crash of the day, Carmel police said.

Shortly after 5 p.m. June 12, Officer Michelle Yeager and Det. Brian Smith were dispatched to a residential neighborhood on Kaitlin Drive near Hill Street for a report of a motor vehicle accident with injuries.

Upon arrival, they located a downed motorcyclist with serious leg injuries.

Officer Yeager immediately recognized the gray Cadillac SUV as a suspect vehicle in a hit-and-run accident that had occurred about 90 minutes earlier, police said. The previous crash involved property damage in the area of Route 6 and Baldwin Place Road at 3:30 p.m.

Police said according to their investigation at the scene that the operator of the motorcycle, a 19-year-old Mahopac resident, was stopped in the road waiting for an uninvolved vehicle to back out onto the roadway and was struck head-on by the Cadillac.

The 19-year-old suffered severe leg trauma and was transported by EMS to Westchester Medical Center for treatment, police said.

The driver, Frank Golinello, 65, of Mahopac, was charged with three felonies — driving while intoxicated (previous conviction within 10 years), aggravated driving while intoxicated (having a BAC greater than .18) and vehicular assault in the first degree — and multiple traffic infractions, police said.

The severity of the charges are because Golinello had a BAC greater than .18 percent, caused serious physical injury to the motorcyclist — and has previous DWI convictions, police said.

Golinello was arraigned in Carmel town court and released pending a future court date.