A jury convicted Lawrence Faucett, of Ulster, Pa., on Friday of criminally negligent homicide in the death last March of New York State Department of Transportation maintenance worker Dennis “Matt” Howe, of Owego.
Howe was parked on the shoulder of NYS Route 17 on March 13, 2019, near Nichols in Tioga County, in an advance warning vehicle. The truck’s lights were flashing to alert drivers of a road repair crew ahead. The jury found Faucett, as a driver behind the wheel of a tractor-trailer, did not comply with New York’s Move Over Law, and drove his truck onto the shoulder, crashing into Howe’s truck. Howe was airlifted to a hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries on March 18.
Faucett was initially ticketed for moving from a lane unsafely and failure to exercise due care – a violation of the Move Over Law. Upon further investigation by the Tioga County Sheriff’s Department and the Tioga County District Attorney’s Office, Faucett was charged with criminally negligent homicide, and convicted by a jury on Friday.
In October, the portion of NYS Route 17, where Howe was working when his DOT truck was hit, was designated as the Dennis “Matt” Howe Memorial Highway.
State Senator Fred Akshar and Assemblyman Christopher Friend introduced and sponsored the legislation authorizing the designation. Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed their legislation into law on August 9, 2019, five months after Howe’s death.
Howe was 45 years old. He is survived by his wife, Alycia Haus; his children, Bre and Dalton.
His funeral processional through Owego was attended by thousands. Cuomo ordered all flags on state buildings to be lowered to half staff in Howe’s honor.
