AUBURN -- An area teenager should not be charged with manslaughter for his alleged involvement in a fatal motor vehicle accident in 2006, according to the judge presiding over his case.
Judge Thomas VanStrydonck decided in a written statement Monday that there is not enough evidence to support a felony charge of second-degree manslaughter in the case of Nicholas Raymond, 19, formerly of Auburn.
Raymond, who now lives in Delmar, is accused of leaving an injured passenger, Timothy Hutchings, 19, without seeking help following a Sept. 2, 2006 car accident in the front yard of 2850 Sand Beach Road, Fleming. Hutchings was found dead hours later.
Piemonte requested the dismissal in Cayuga County Court Wednesday on the grounds that while the victim's death was not immediate, it was imminent, and medical intervention would not have changed the outcome.
According to VanStrydonck's written decision, "insufficient evidence was presented to a Cayuga County grand jury to establish that the victim died as a result of the failure of the defendant to seek prompt medical care for the victim."
Raymond is still charged with criminally negligent homicide and leaving the scene of a fatal motor vehicle accident without reporting, both felonies, and the vehicle and traffic infractions of an unlicensed operator, speed not reasonable and prudent, and failure to keep right.
"We are certainly grateful that the judge reviewed the grand jury minutes in detail," Piemonte said Monday. "(This decision) has put to rest the district attorney's long-standing and unfounded accusation that (Raymond) left the victim in this case to languish until his death."
District Attorney James Vargason, who is prosecuting the case, said that he is not surprised by the judge's decision, as the manslaughter charge created a "novel" legal issue.
"I will be reviewing the decision to determine if there is controlling legal authority which would pave the way to a successful appeal," Vargason said Monday.
For more on this story, read Tuesday's edition of The Citizen.
Raymond, who now lives in Delmar, is accused of leaving an injured passenger, Timothy Hutchings, 19, without seeking help following a Sept. 2, 2006 car accident in the front yard of 2850 Sand Beach Road, Fleming. Hutchings was found dead hours later.
Piemonte requested the dismissal in Cayuga County Court Wednesday on the grounds that while the victim's death was not immediate, it was imminent, and medical intervention would not have changed the outcome.
According to VanStrydonck's written decision, "insufficient evidence was presented to a Cayuga County grand jury to establish that the victim died as a result of the failure of the defendant to seek prompt medical care for the victim."
Raymond is still charged with criminally negligent homicide and leaving the scene of a fatal motor vehicle accident without reporting, both felonies, and the vehicle and traffic infractions of an unlicensed operator, speed not reasonable and prudent, and failure to keep right.
"We are certainly grateful that the judge reviewed the grand jury minutes in detail," Piemonte said Monday. "(This decision) has put to rest the district attorney's long-standing and unfounded accusation that (Raymond) left the victim in this case to languish until his death."
District Attorney James Vargason, who is prosecuting the case, said that he is not surprised by the judge's decision, as the manslaughter charge created a "novel" legal issue.
"I will be reviewing the decision to determine if there is controlling legal authority which would pave the way to a successful appeal," Vargason said Monday.
For more on this story, read Tuesday's edition of The Citizen.
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