The driver involved in a two-car accident that injured five people just outside of the village of Penn Yan last July 4th has pleaded guilty to charges of felony vehicular assault and drunken driving.
Mark Cronin admitted in Yates County Court that he was drunk when he failed to stop for a stop sign at the intersection of Second Milo and Old Bath roads and crashed into a van driven by Zachary Bailey of Dundee. The impact caused the van to roll over. Bailey and his seven passengers, including six kids who were between the ages of nine months and 16 years, were taken to several hospitals by ambulance and helicopters for their injuries.
After turning down a plea deal in late December that would have seen him receive one to three years in prison, the former owner of the Showboat Motel in Himrod was indicted a week later. Cronin will be sentenced in June.
With his felony guilty plea, Cronin vacates his elected trustee seat on the village board in Horseheads where he lives.