Wallkill man sentenced in deadly hit-and-run crash

A Wallkill man who pleaded guilty in a hit-and-run crash that left a woman dead learned his sentence Monday.

News 12 Staff

Sep 9, 2019, 6:57 PM

Updated 1,690 days ago

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A Wallkill man who pleaded guilty in a hit-and-run crash that left a woman dead learned his sentence Monday.
Stephen Grundel was sentenced to one to three years in state prison.
Grundel hit and killed 34-year-old Kiera Babcock, who was walking alongside a road in Mount Hope back in March.
While Grundel is behind bars, the nightmare of losing her child isn't over for Babcock's mother, Betty.
"There is not a day that I don't go by thinking about her," Betty said. "The worst phone call that any parent could have was the phone call that I received that day, on March 31. I just broke down and fell to the floor and screamed."
Surveillance video shows Grundel hitting and leaving Babcock on the side of a road on March 30. Footage and tips from the public led police to Grundel and his truck with front-end damage.
The Babcock family has mixed emotions about his sentencing.
"This has been a nightmare for our family and we've lost a lot in the past five months," Betty said. "I'm trying my best to move on and I'm having a hard time with it."
Babcock leaves behind three young children.


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