Pleasant Valley man arrested following crash investigation

Wappinger, New York – On July 25, 2015 at approximately 2:00 p.m., New York State Police from the Wappinger barracks were dispatched by Dutchess County 911 to a one-car auto collision on New Hackensack Road.

Troopers arrived on scene and located a 2003 Saturn approximately 40 feet down a steep embankment on the south side of New Hackensack Road.  State Police members and New Hackensack Fire Department personnel canvassed the crash site and were unable to locate the driver of the vehicle.  A child’s car seat was located approximately 30 yards from the crash site leading investigating Troopers to believe that a child had been in the vehicle at the time of the crash.

While police searched the wooded area with the assistance of two New York State Police canines, documentation observed at the scene led police to a Town of Pleasant Valley home.  Troopers located the driver of the vehicle, 25-year-old Victor Casimiro, at his residence with his 1-year-old child.  Due to the severity of the collision, EMS was requested to respond to the Pleasant Valley home to evaluate Casimiro’s daughter.  She was transported to Mid-Hudson Medical Center for evaluation and released.

An investigation revealed that Casimiro fled the crash and flagged down a passing motorist prior to police arriving on scene.   Casimiro was taken into custody and charged with Endangering the Welfare of a Child, Reckless Endangerment 2nd Degree, and Leaving the Scene of an Accident, Misdemeanors.

Casimiro was arraigned before the Village of Wappingers Falls Court and remanded to the Dutchess County Jail in lieu of $1,000 cash bail or $2,500 bond.  He is scheduled to reappear before the Town of Wappinger Court on July 28, 2015.

The State Police were assisted by the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office, New Hackensack Fire Department, Pleasant Valley Fire Department, State Police Aviation and Mobile Life EMS.