Warwick resident pleads guilty in fatal accident

Warwick resident Tiffany Howell pleaded guilty last week to driving in the wrong direction while drunk and causing the death of a Westchester man on the Taconic State Parkway in January.

According to an Aug. 19 state Office of Investigations press release, Howell, 48, was driving south at more than 50 mph in the northbound lanes of the Taconic Parkway in Mount Pleasant at 11:37 p.m. on Jan. 22 when she crashed a 2021 Infiniti head-on into a 2024 Toyota Rav4 driven by Manuel Boitel, 61, of Peekskill.

Boitel, who worked as doorman in Manhattan, was pronounced dead shortly after 12 a.m. on Jan. 23, at Westchester Medical Center. Howell’s blood alcohol content was at least 0.18, according to the release. The legal limit is 0.08.

Howell, a former sergeant with the New York City Police Department, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide and second-degree manslaughter before Judge Anne Bianchi in Westchester County Court. Bianchi continued bail at a $250,000 bond, or a $500,000 partially secured bond, with a $100,000 cash alternative.

Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 28. The judge, according to the press release, said Howell will receive four to 12 years in prison. Howell waived her right to appeal.

In January, The New York Times reported that on the night of the crash, Howell had been scheduled to host a party at Mom’s Cigar Warehouse in Scarsdale for the Holy Name Society, a police fraternal organization.

The paper also reported that prosecutor Allison Stuart told the court Howell was coming back from a social event where video cameras showed her consuming several drinks. Howell was off duty at the time of the crash.

Pursuant to state law, the Office of Special Investigations assesses incidents where a police officer or a peace officer, including a corrections officer, may have caused the death of a person by an act or omission.

A Jan. 31, 2024 post on the nypdequity Instagram account stated Howell was assigned to the Deputy Commission of Collaborative Policing and was a participant in the Woman’s Institute program.