Man: Not guilty in crash that killed wife
Jeffrey Hirsch, 57, of Longshore Street in Bay Shore, was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated after a crash which left his wife in serious condition, Suffolk County police said. His wife later died. (Jan. 24, 2012) Credit: SCPD
A Bay Shore man pleaded not guilty Wednesday morning to charges of killing his wife while driving drunk.
Jeffrey Hirsch, 57, is charged with second-degree vehicular manslaughter and driving while intoxicated. Assistant District Attorney Jessica Spencer said Hirsch had a blood-alcohol content of 0.16 percent -- twice the legal limit -- when he drove into the back of another car on Jan. 24 on Wellwood Avenue in East Farmingdale.
Pauline Hirsch, his wife, suffered injuries in the crash that later proved fatal. The occupants of the car Hirsch hit were also injured, but Spencer said she did not know how seriously.
Suffolk County Court Judge Martin Efman ordered Hirsch held on bail of $25,000 cash or $50,000 bond.
Hirsch's brother Donald, of Texas, said Hirsch is "very distraught at the loss of his wife" of more than 30 years.
"He's been an honest, upstanding citizen for all the years I've known him," he said. "She was a lovely lady . . . Both of them are very wonderful people."
Hirsch is scheduled to return to court March 14.
Top salaries on town, city payrolls ... Record November home prices ... Rocco's Taco's at Walt Whitman Shops ... After 47 years, affordable housing
Top salaries on town, city payrolls ... Record November home prices ... Rocco's Taco's at Walt Whitman Shops ... After 47 years, affordable housing
