via GoFundMe page
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The off-duty NYPD sergeant who allegedly drove the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway and killed beloved Upper East Side doorman Manuel Boitel in January has been indicted and arraigned on multiple felony charges, according to the New York State Attorney General’s Office.
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Sgt. Tiffany Howell, 47, of Warwick, New York, was arraigned Monday in Westchester County court on charges of aggravated vehicular homicide, second-degree manslaughter, and two counts of vehicular manslaughter. She pleaded not guilty. Judge George Fufidio set bail at $100,000 cash.Prosecutors revealed that Howell’s blood-alcohol level was 0.26 at the time of the January 22 crash — more than three times the legal limit of 0.08 — and that she was traveling at 50 miles per hour in the wrong direction when her 2021 Infiniti struck Boitel’s 2024 Toyota RAV4 head-on. If convicted of the top charge, Howell faces up to 25 years in prison.
Howell appeared in court with her left arm in a cast and sling, the New York Times reported. Her attorney, Andrew Quinn, said Howell had never been arrested before and called the allegations a departure from her lifelong character.
As ESF previously reported, Boitel, 61, had worked as a doorman at the St. Tropez condominium at 340 East 64th Street for three decades. He was driving home to Peekskill after his night shift when the collision occurred near mile marker 3.7 in Mount Pleasant at approximately 11:39 p.m. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital shortly after midnight.
According to prosecutors, Howell had been at a party she hosted for the Holy Name Society, a police fraternal organization, at a cigar bar in Scarsdale earlier that evening. The event featured an open bar. Video footage showed Howell consuming multiple drinks, prosecutors said.
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Boitel’s wife, Marisol Cabrera Boitel, and his sons Marvin and Eric attended the arraignment. His wife began crying as prosecutors described the crash, according to the Times.Jonathan Roberts, the family’s attorney, called the indictment an important step toward accountability, saying no family should have to bury a loved one because someone sworn to protect the public chose to drive drunk.
The family has previously spoken about a painful irony: Boitel had long admired law enforcement and had dreamed of becoming a police officer himself. He was an honorary member of the National Police Defense Foundation and regularly donated to funds supporting officers.
Howell, who joined the NYPD in 2008 and was assigned to a juvenile crime strategy unit, was initially placed on modified duty after the crash. She was subsequently suspended without pay on February 2 following an Internal Affairs Bureau investigation, according to an NYPD spokesperson.
Residents of 340 East 64th Street have rallied around the Boitel family. A GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $71,000 to help Boitel’s family with expenses. Hundreds attended Boitel’s wake, and a memorial with his photo, candles, and flowers was placed on the lobby desk where he greeted residents for 30 years.
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