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Ex-NYPD sergeant sentenced to 4-12 years in deadly drunken Taconic crash
By
Charles Lane
Published Oct 28, 2026 at 3:51 p.m. ET
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Deb Cohn-Orbach/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
By
Charles Lane
Published Oct 28, 2026 at 3:51 p.m. ET
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A former NYPD sergeant convicted of driving drunk the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway and killing a Peekskill man was sentenced Wednesday to four to 12 years in prison, the state attorney general’s office said.
Tiffany Howell, 48, of Warwick, New York, pleaded guilty in August before Westchester County Judge Anne B. Bianchi to aggravated vehicular homicide and second-degree manslaughter in the January crash that killed Manuel Boitel, 61.
Howell’s driver’s license has been revoked, and she waived her right to appeal, New York Attorney General Letitia James said.
Boitel’s family said the punishment fell short. In a statement released through their attorney, the family members said they were was disappointed.
“It does not provide the measure of accountability the family had hoped for,” attorney Jonathan Roberts said.
Howell was driving south in the highway’s northbound lanes at more than 50 mph when she crashed head-on into Boitel’s car shortly before midnight on Jan. 22, prosecutors said. Her blood alcohol level was at least 0.18, more than twice the legal limit. Boitel was pronounced dead at a hospital shortly after midnight.
Earlier that night, Howell, an 18-year NYPD veteran, had helped organize a dinner and cigar event with an open bar in Scarsdale for the NYPD Holy Name Society, a Catholic fraternal group, according to social media posts.
The family is also suing the City of New York, the NYPD, the Holy Name Society and the cigar bar where the event was held.
In letters to the judge, Boitel’s wife and sons asked for no leniency. Marisol Boitel wrote that she met her husband when she was 18, married him at 20, and that he was driving home from work happy because he had the next two days off.
“She did not only kill him; she also killed my will to keep living, my dreams and our plans for now and for the future,” she wrote, asking for the maximum sentence.
His son, Marvin Boitel, wrote that his father had once wanted to become a police officer but chose safer work after becoming a father. Marvin Boitel ended his letter with something he said his father always told him: “Actions have consequences.”
Howell’s attorney, a Sergeants Benevolent Association lawyer, did not return calls seeking comment.
The attorney general’s Office of Special Investigation prosecuted the case. State law requires the office to investigate deaths that a police officer may have caused, whether the officer was on or off duty.
Tagged
nypd
public safety
westchester
Charles Lane
Charles is a Day-of reporter focused on breaking news and enterprise. He’s very friendly and can be reached at [email protected], or more securely on whatsapp/signal 631-295-6715
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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