Schenectady man admits to killing

Mark Brodie says he was drunk, high in fatal crash on Oct. 20

SCHENECTADY — A 63year-old city man faces up to 18 years behind bars after admitting his role in a fatal 2021 head-on collision on Route 7 while driving high on prescription drugs and alcohol, Schenectady County prosecutors said.

The district attorney’s office said Mark Brodie pleaded guilty Thursday in County Court to felonies including aggravated vehicular homicide, manslaughter, assault, driving while ability impaired by the combined influence of drugs or of alcohol and any drug and DWI. In exchange, he is to receive a sentence of 6 to 18 years in prison when he is sentenced April 17 by Judge Matthew Sypniewski.

Brodie had previously rejected the terms of the plea deal.

The crash shortly after 6 p.m. on Oct. 20 near Shannon Boulevard in Niskayuna killed Denise Gutinger, 68. She was taken to Albany Medical Center Hospital where she died of severe internal injuries and ruptures of her circulatory system.

Dash-cam video from another motorist shows Brodie driving over a curb, speeding, weaving in and out of traffic, and driving west in the eastbound lane, before striking Guthinger. Prior to the crash, a driver called 911 after seeing Brodie’s car stopped at a green light on Lishakill Road and blocking traffic before lurching forward.

Two samples of Brodie’s blood were taken at Albany Med. The first measured a blood alcohol content of 0.13 percent. The second measured the BAC at 0.10. The limit for a person to be considered legally drunk in New York is 0.08.

In addition to the alcohol, Brodie had Xanax, oxycodone and nordiazepam, all controlled substances in his system, prosecutors said. Brodie has a previous drunken driving conviction within the past 10 years, prosecutors said.

He was represented by defense attorney Joseph Litz. The case was handled by Assistant District Attorney Nicolaus McDonald.

Route 7 concerns

District Attorney Robert Carney said in a news release there have been four fatal crashes in a year along Route 7. As a result, his office has been in touch with the state Department of Transportation Office of Traffic Safety and Mobility to see if there are ways to make Route 7 safer.

“We are additionally concerned about the safety of Route 7 in the Town of Niskayuna where we have had four traffic fatalities within a one-year span (including a) motorcycle fatality that did not result in a prosecution,” Carney said. “Since the pandemic, we have seen horrible cases of people making stupid and selfish decisions to drive while seriously impaired and innocent people have paid for that with their lives.”

He also credited Niskayuna Lt. Joseph Twitty for his hard work in tracking down key evidence that strengthened the criminal case against Brodie.