Corinth mother gets 4 to 12 years in daughter's death

HADLEY — A 21-year-old Corinth mother whose infant daughter was killed in a head-on collision last February was sentenced Thursday to spend 4 to 12 years in state prison for vehicular manslaughter.

Alison J. Pecor, of 110 Hollister Road, was sentenced by Saratoga County Court Judge James A. Murphy III in connection with the crash that took place at about 10:30 a.m. Feb. 5 that killed her 18-month-old daughter and severely injured the other driver.

In July, Pecor pleaded guilty to charges of first-degree vehicular manslaughter and second-degree vehicular assault. In addition to the sentence on the manslaughter charge, she was sentenced to 1 to 3 years in prison on the vehicular assault charge, to be served concurrently.

Prosecutors said that Pecor was under the influence of alprazolam, commonly known as Xanax, and nordiazepam, a metabolite of what is commonly called Valium, which she crossed the center line on Route 9N in the town of Hadley and collided with an oncoming vehicle. Infant Gracelynn Madison, whose child seat was not properly installed, according to the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Department, was killed.

“This case is another example of the destructive consequences made by a defendant who chose to operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs,” said District Attorney Karen A. Heggen. “Her decision to drive that day brought about the tragic death of her 18-month-old daughter.”

The other driver is expected to be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life, Heggen said. In court, her brother-in-law said she has permanent, debilitating injuries, and suffers daily physical and psychological pain.

“The defendant chose to consume drugs … knowing she was in no condition to be operating a motor vehicle,” Assistant District Attorney Katherine DeMartino said in court.

The maximum sentence Pecor faced was 15 years in prison.

Reach Gazette reporter Stephen Williams at 395-3086, [email protected] or@gazettesteve on Twitter.