CORTLAND, N.Y. (WHCU) – A Cortland man has accepted a plea deal for his role in a car accident that claimed a life in 2023.

Cortland County District Attorney Patrick Perfetti says Ergardo Rosario accepted an offer on Monday to settle his indictment of aggravated vehicular homicide, vehicular manslaughter, reckless endangerment, driving while intoxicated by drugs, and reckless driving.

Rosario was behind the wheel when his car left the roadway on February 25 last year and struck a utility pole on Homer Avenue. The accident killed one of his passengers and seriously injured another. The incident was captured on video surveillance from a neighboring property.

Perfetti says Rosario will be sentenced as a first felony offender because he doesn’t have a recent criminal history, but the state will still be seeking the maximum sentence of 5-15 years in State Prison.

“There was a death in this circumstance, and where there is death, there must be an accounting,” said Perfetti.

Rosario is scheduled for sentencing on April 23.