CORTLAND, N.Y. (WHCU) – A Cortland man has received prison time.

Ergardo Rosario was sentenced to 3-15 years in state prison on Tuesday for his role in a car crash that claimed a life in February 2023. Rosario accepted a plea deal earlier this year in February.

According to Cortland County District Attorney Patrick Perfetti, the accident was caught on a nearby doorbell camera. Perfetti says evidence presented at trial would have shown that the driver Rosario was traveling at 47 mph in a 30 mph zone just 5 seconds before his car left the roadway and struck a utility pole on Homer Avenue. Perfetti says the blood toxicology report showed marijuana, fentanyl, and methadone in Rosario’s system at the time of the crash, which Perfetti says Rosario admitted.

A 50-year-old woman was killed in the crash, and two others were seriously injured.

“This case serves as an example of the dangers and tragic results of drugged driving,” said Perfetti. “This office will stand ready to prosecute vigorously these cases. Unfortunately, the strongest prosecutions will never bring back those who’ve died.”