Troy man gets jail in drugged-driving crash

TROY, N.Y. >> A Troy man was sentenced to a year in jail earlier this week to causing a February 2016 crash that injured five people, including three children.

Dennis Loiselle Jr., 24, was sentenced Tuesday in Rensselaer County Court as a result of his guilty plea to two felony counts of Vsecond-degree vehicular assault, as well as a misdemeanor charge of driving while ability impaired by drugs.

Loiselle was driving southbound on Route 40, in the town of Schaghticoke of Feb. 27, 2016, when his vehicle crossed into the northbound lane and crashed head-on into a mini-van.

The crash resulted in non-lifethreatening injuries to Loiselle and the occupants of the other vehicle, including the driver and her three children. Loiselle was found to be driving under the influence of marihuana and several prescription drugs at the time of the crash, authorities said.

Loiselle was sentenced to concurrent one-year terms in the Rensselaer County jail for each felony count, had his driver’s license revoked and must also pay restitution to the victims.

“Impaired drivers continue to endanger our communities and injure the most innocent among us,” Rensselaer County Distrrict Attorney Joel ABelove said in a news release announcing the sentence.

“This defendant’s thoughtless actions hurt a family and justify his incarceration. Thankfully, his victims were not gravely injured or killed.”