Wrong-Way Drunk Driver Sentenced For Crash That Killed 2

SOMERS, NY — The Somers man who was found guilty of killing two Ardsley residents while he was driving the wrong way while drunk was sentenced Monday to state prison.

Jaime Paucar, 52, of Somers, was sentenced to 8-1/3 to 25 years in state prison, with five years of post-release supervision, according to Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocah.

Paucar was found guilty Feb. 7, following a four-week bench trial, of two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, two counts of second-degree manslaughter and second-degree assault, all felonies.

The judge also found him guilty of third-degree assault, aggravated driving while intoxicated, driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, leaving the scene of an incident without reporting property damage and leaving the scene of an incident without reporting personal injury, all misdemeanors.

Paucar was acquitted of two counts of second-degree murder, Rocah said.

Prosecutors said, around 8:30 p.m. Jan. 30, 2020, Paucar was driving west in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 287 in Harrison when he crashed head-on into a car driven by Jordan Wachtell, 57, whose 17-year-old son and two teenage friends were passengers.

Wachtell died at the scene. Eric Goldberg, 17, who was a passenger, was taken to Westchester Medical Center when he died later that night.

Wachtell’s son and the other surviving passenger were also taken to Westchester Medical Center and treated for their injuries.

Paucar was found to have a blood-alcohol content of 0.24 percent at the time of the crash.

In a victim impact statement made to the court, a surviving passenger said, "I still have nightmares. … To me, you are the boogeyman. … We were just four people going to a basketball game. … You were the one who made my friends cry. … You're the one who made families all over Ardsley mourn. It's not fair, and for that, I cannot give you my forgiveness."

Wachtell's wife, in her impact statement, said to the court that her husband's death left her "lost, devastated and fearful for our future."

She said she is now facing life alone without her co-parent, life partner, friend, confidant, biggest fan and protector and sole wage earner for the family.

"On top of my own grief, it is heartbreaking to watch my children fear risk, fear loss, lose emotional energy, in short, be traumatized," she said.

Goldberg's mother said he had his whole life ahead of him and would have been a sophomore in college now.

"While most parents visit their children in college," she said, "I go to visit my son at the cemetery. … There's no sentence that could ever be given that would justify taking Eric's life and Eric away from us."