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A drunk driver who slammed into a Yonkers mom and pinned her 8-month-old baby under his car inside a local barbershop could now face up to 15 years in prison.
David Poncurak, 43, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular assault and other charges in Westchester County Court Tuesday in the chilling, caught-on-video crash on July 23, prosecutors said in a press release.
The mom and her baby girl survived the harrowing ordeal thanks to quick-thinking Yonkers cops, who dashed into the storefront and lifted the 2005 Hyundai Elantra with the help of bystanders to free the trapped infant.
“David Poncurak’s decision to drive under the influence of alcohol and drugs put a mother and her infant child at severe risk,” Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah said in a statement.
“I applaud the extraordinary work of the Yonkers Police Department, the bystanders, and the ambulance crew who sprang into action to assist during this harrowing event,” Rocah said. “The victims are alive today because of the heroic efforts of these brave individuals.”
The unsuspecting mom was walking across the street with her baby around 8:30 a.m. when the Hyundai struck a parked car on Lake Avenue, shot across the street and plowed into her and the infant, surveillance footage of the incident shows.
They were hurled into the nearby barbershop, where the trapped baby was pulled from under the car by Yonkers cops Rocco Fusco and Paul Samoyedny, and others.
The mother, who hasn’t been publicly identified, underwent surgery for a fractured femur at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx and her daughter suffered a skull fracture and server burns.
In addition to the vehicular assault charge, a felony, Poncurak also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor counts of driving while intoxicated, driving while ability impaired by drugs and alcohol, and driving without a license.
He faces five to 15 years in prison when he is sentenced on Jan. 13.
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