Man pleads guilty in Rotterdam vehicular asssault

PHOTOGRAPHER: Steven Cook

SCHENECTADY — A man admitted Monday to driving drunk and hitting another driver head-on last November, seriously injuring the other driver.

Kyle Duddy, 27, pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree vehicular assault, a felony.

In exchange for his plea, Duddy is to get 1 to 3 years in state prison at his sentencing later. That sentence is to run consecutive to an unrelated burglary sentence he is currently serving.

Monday’s plea came four months after Schenectady County Court Judge Karen Drago refused to approve a previous plea deal in March.

She said then that she would approve it only if the time were to run consecutive to the other sentence, the deal she approved Monday.

That plea deal would have left Duddy serving no extra time for the Schenectady County crash. He would have gotten 1 to 3 years in prison to be served at the same time as his other sentence.

Duddy admitted to driving drunk Nov. 5 on the Thruway on-ramp at Exit 26 in Rotterdam.

Duddy’s car struck the other car head-on. The force of the impact pushed the woman’s leg back, shattering her hip, prosecutor Stephanie Hughes, of the Schenectady County District Attorney’s office said previously.

Duddy submitted to a blood test and initially was charged with driving while intoxicated. The vehicular assault charge was added after the extent of the woman’s injuries became clear.

Duddy appeared in Schenectady County Court Monday with his attorney Joseph Litz. Duddy was also produced from state prison, where he is serving his other sentence, 1 to 3.5 years for a third-degree attempted burglary conviction in Orange County.

Duddy will also have a $1,000 fine. No restitution is being imposed as the victim is pursuing a civil case, Hughes said. A search of Schenectady County Clerk records Monday showed no case filed against Duddy as of Monday.