DA VANCE: TOUR BUS DRIVER CONVICTED ON ALL COUNTS IN VEHICULAR HOMICIDE TRIAL
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., announced the trial conviction of STEVE DRAPPEL, 60, for operating a tour bus while intoxicated and killing a pedestrian at the intersection of West 47th Street and Ninth Avenue. The defendant was convicted following a bench trial in New York State Supreme Court of all of the counts in the indictment against him: Vehicular Manslaughter in the Second Degree, Criminally Negligent Homicide, and Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated. DRAPPEL is expected to be sentenced on January 8, 2014.
“Driving while intoxicated is always the wrong decision,” said District Attorney Vance. “Driving a 25-ton bus brings with it the responsibility to protect not only passengers, but also motorists and pedestrians. Steve Drappel endangered the lives of his passengers and took the life of an innocent 29-year-old pedestrian in the process.”
As proven at trial, at approximately 10 p.m. on May 7, 2011, as DRAPPEL made a left turn with his tour bus onto Ninth Avenue from 47th Street, he struck a pedestrian crossing Ninth Avenue. After being hit, the victim’s body was dragged for approximately half of a block before eyewitnesses stopped DRAPPEL. Police found a travel mug containing vodka hidden beside the driver’s seat and an open bottle of vodka stashed in a luggage compartment beneath the bus. DRAPPEL’s blood alcohol concentration was registered .14 on an Intoxilyzer breath test about an hour after the collision. The legal limit for commercial drivers is .04.
Assistant District Attorneys Harrison Schweiloch and Craig Ascher handled the prosecution of this case, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys John Wolfstaetter and Jill Hoexter, Co-Chiefs of the Vehicular Crimes Unit; Assistant District Attorney Charles Whitt, Deputy Chief of Trial Bureau 60; and Assistant District Attorney William Mahoney, Chief of Trial Bureau 60. Assistant District Attorney James Lin also assisted in the prosecution of this case.
Defendant Information:
STEVE DRAPPEL, D.O.B. 5/15/53
West Palm Beach, FL
Convicted:
- Vehicular Manslaughter in the Second Degree, a class D felony, 1 count
- Criminally Negligent Homicide, a class E felony, 1 count
- Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated, a misdemeanor, 2 count