Gina Hassan, 30, of Goshen, New York, pled guilty in Schenectady County Court on July 15, 2022 to Aggravated Vehicular Homicide and Assault in the Second Degree. Ms. Hassan will receive a sentence of 6 to 18 years of incarceration for her plea to Aggravated Vehicular Homicide and 7 years of incarceration for her plea to Assault when she is sentenced on September 15, 2022.
On July 1, 2021, Gina Hassan, who was driving her vehicle on Troy Schenectady Road in the Town of Niskayuna, caused a head-on car crash that killed Dennis Farrell and seriously injured his wife, Kathleen, as the Farrells were stopped at a traffic light waiting to turn left. The force of the collision produced a chain reaction that damaged 2 other vehicles waiting at the light as well. On the day that she killed Mr. Farrell, Gina Hassan left her boyfriend’s apartment intoxicated and under the combined influence of Xanax, a depressant. She was in no condition to drive and was observed by other motorists driving erratically, swerving, speeding, hitting a garbage can, and then rear ending a vehicle at the corner of Balltown Road and Union Street that was stopped at a red light. Her erratic driving so alarmed passing motorists that several of them made 911 calls. After hitting the vehicle at the corner of Balltown Road and Union Street, Gina Hassan drove off, without stopping, and soon after caused the fatal car crash on Troy Schenectady Road.
In Court, Gina Hassan admitted to recklessly driving a motor vehicle, while impaired or intoxicated by the combined influence of alcohol and drugs, in a manner that caused the death of Mr. Farrell and seriously injured Mrs. Farrell.
District Attorney Robert M. Carney stated: “There was nothing that the Farrells could have done to avoid the collision with Ms. Hassan’s car. They were stopped in traffic, she veered into their lane and hit them head on. Mr. Farrell survived the collision that day but developed complications that ended his life 11 days later. The senselessness of this tragedy is compounded by the fact that Ms. Hassan had no know purpose for driving that day, she was just out driving in a fog of inebriation. My office has seen too many of these cases recently. We have had three fatalities caused by recklessly impaired drivers in the last two years alone and it’s my sense that the roads have become more dangerous since the pandemic. Even though the information about Ms. Hassan provided by the 911 callers did not prevent this fatal crash, we appreciate their willingness to make those calls and assist police in keeping our roads as safe as possible.”
Gina Hassan pled before the Honorable Mark J. Caruso. The case was prosecuted by ADA Christina Tremante-Pelham. Ms. Hassan was represented by Attorney Rory Brady. For further information contact Assistant District Attorney Christina Tremante-Pelham at (518) 388-4723.