Saugerties woman pleads guilty in hit-and-run case that killed Starllie Swongyoung

KINGSTON, NY – A Saugerties woman admitted Tuesday to running over a young woman and leaving her on the side of the road to die.

Lacy Maxwell, 43, wiped tears from her eyes as she pleaded guilty in Ulster County Court to leaving the scene of an accident without reporting a death. The accident occurred on January 10, 2024, when 21-year-old Starllie Swongyoung was killed.

Maxwell also pleaded guilty to aggravated insurance fraud for staging an accident the next day with her husband, Ryan Maxwell, to explain the damage to their 2011 Subaru.

As part of the plea deal, her husband, Ryan Maxwell, pleaded guilty in a separate proceeding Tuesday before Ulster County Judge Bryan Rounds to insurance fraud for staging the accident with his wife. Prosecutors say Ryan Maxwell was the one who reported the alleged accident to the couple's insurance company.

In exchange for her guilty plea, Lacy Maxwell will be sentenced on November 15 to 2 1/3 to 7 years in prison, the maximum sentence allowed by law, for leaving the scene of a crime. She was sentenced to 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison for insurance fraud, to be served concurrently. She was released on $200,000 bail until her sentencing.

Ryan Maxwell is sentenced to three years probation for falsely reporting the accident to the insurance company.

The two must also pay the insurance company $3,100 in damages.

The Maxwells were arrested on March 6 following an extensive, two-month investigation into the accident, which occurred on January 10 at approximately 5:10 p.m. on U.S. Route 9W.

Authorities said Swongyoung and a friend were walking along the side of the road between the village of Saugerties and the hamlet of Malden when Lacy Maxwell, who was driving south on U.S. Route 9W, struck Swongyoung from behind with such force that she was thrown onto the hood of the vehicle, leaving a large dent in the hood of the car before landing on the ground. Her friend was not injured in the accident.

Instead of stopping, Maxwell drove a mile down the road to an apartment complex to deliver food to her stepfather, according to authorities. Assistant District Attorney Paul Derohannesian said surveillance video showed that before entering the home, she walked around her vehicle to look at the damage.

“You could see clear indentations in the hood of the vehicle,” Derohannesian said, adding that Swongyoung's DNA was found in the panel that covers the gap between the hood and the windshield. There, he previously said, Swongyoung's skull left a “huge indentation.” In addition, he previously said, paint chips on Swongyoung's clothing matched the paint on Lacy Maxwell's vehicle.

The next day, at about 6:50 a.m., Lacy Maxwell intentionally drove her car into a tree in Greene County and reported to police that she swerved to avoid a small animal that jumped in front of her.

Derohannesian said Ryan Maxwell called the couple's insurance company later that morning to report the accident.

Swongyoung's mother was among those who attended Tuesday's hearing. Although she declined to comment Tuesday, Derohannesian said she and the mother of the friend who witnessed the accident will testify at the sentencing.

Swongyoung's fatal hit-and-run accident on January 10, 2024, was the first of three such incidents in Ulster County in the first three months of the year.

On Jan. 25, Raymond E. Rattray, 22, a senior at SUNY New Paltz, was killed in a hit-and-run crash at about 5:11 p.m. while walking home from campus. In March, Ty Kobelt, 33, was arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter, tampering with evidence and leaving the scene of a fatal car crash – all felonies. Kobelt is due back in Ulster County Court on Sept. 18.

On March 1, Donna Cristallo (72) and Stephen Celuch (75) were killed in a hit-and-run accident when the hit-and-run car pushed Celuch, who was in a wheelchair, across US Route 9W near The Falcon in Marlborough.

Angela Jennie Fischl, 25, of Newburgh, was arrested by State Police in Highland on May 17 in the Town of Newburgh and charged with two counts of hit and run resulting in death. Fischl is due back in Ulster County Court on September 30.

Originally published: August 20, 2024 at 3:55 p.m.