Retired Hudson Valley Cop Drunk During Fatal Crash, Police Say

A retired Hudson Valley police officer and former town councilman was drunk during a three-car accident that killed a teaching assistant, according to authorities.

State police say that when interviewing 57-year-old Richard O'Keefe they observed clues that he was drunk. A blood-alcohol test was administered, but the results have not been released.

According to The Journal News, O'Keefe was traveling north on Route 6 in Mahopac around 10 p.m. on Saturday when his Dodge Caravan was cut off by a Jeep Patriot. 54-year-old Fran Ghelarducci of Somers, a back seat passenger in the Jeep, was pronounced dead on the scene.

Police say a Carmel woman who drove the Jeep, tried to make a left-hand turn out of a parking lot and was hit by O’Keefe’s vehicle. A third car was also hit.

O’Keefe is a retired Carmel police officer. In 2005, following his retirement, he was elected and served one four-year term on the Carmel Town Board. The Mahopac resident has been charged with felony counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and second-degree vehicular manslaughter.

The driver of the Jeep was not charged. The deceased, Ghelarducci, was a teaching assistant at Primrose Elementary School in Somers.

O’Keefe was taken to Putnam County Jail. He was arraigned in Southeast Town Court and released on $100,000 bond. He is due in Carmel Town Court on December 1.