A Van Etten teen has been arrested in connection with a double fatal motor vehicle accident that took place back on New Year’s Eve. 19-year-old James Crosby was arrested by New York State Police out of Ithaca on Monday under an arrest warrant summon by a grand jury indictment. Back on December 31st, State Police investigated a two-car head-on collision on State Route 34 in Newfield around 5 o’clock in the evening. Police determined that Crosby had been traveling northbound in his 1998 Chevrolet Monte Carlo when he lost control of the vehicle and entered the southbound lane, striking a 2001 Jeep Cherokee being driven by 31-year-old Samantha Aarnio of Spencer. Crosby had to be transported to Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre for a leg injury, and his passenger, 20-year-old Derek Nichols, was pronounced dead at the scene. Aarnio also had to be taken to the hospital for multiple injuries, and her passenger, 32-year-old Eugene Aarnio was hospitalized for an arm injury. Another of Aarnio’s passengers, 67-year-old Kathy Lattimore, was taken to Cortland Regional Medical Center where she was pronounced dead. The investigation is continuing. Crosby was arraigned in Tompkins County Court on multiple charges, including felony counts of manslaughter and assault. He also faces misdemeanor charges of assault, reckless endangerment, and reckless driving.
