Driver in crash that killed Liverpool teen sentenced

Town of Sullivan (WSYR-TV) - A 17-year-old who was allegedly drunk and speeding when she crashed head-on into a mini-van has been charged with vehicular homicide, vehicular assault, and driving while intoxicated. All three charges are felonies.

Chelsea Kuss was arraigned Thursday morning in Town of Sullivan Court after turning herself in at a State Police barracks in Madison County.

The crash on May 25 killed Kuss' passenger, Victoria Deverso, 17, instantly. Both Kuss and the driver of the mini-van, 38-year-old Peggy Blume, were hurt. The vehicular-homicide charge applied to the death of Deverso. The vehicular-assault charge applied to the serious injuries Blume sustained because of the accident.

Kuss was charged with vehicular homicide because she allegedly killed one person and injured another. A manslaughter charge would have applied if one person had been killed only.

Kuss was surrounded by tearful and emotional friends and family members when she arrived at the State Police Trooper barracks.

She sobbed and cried throughout the arraignment, while her family and that of Victoria Deverso looked on in the court room.

"She realizes the gravity of it and just has extreme sympathy for the family and obviously wishes it never happened," said Bob Durr, Kuss' attorney. "Her first response is she has great remorse for this incident ever happening; has great sympathy for the family. You can't really put into words how bad she feels and how tragic the circumstances."

The arraignment was the first time the Deverso family had seen Kuss since the incident in which their daughter was killed.

"People wait until they get to court, now all the sudden they're remorseful because charges have been filled. Reality set in for me three-and-a-half months ago, it's just setting in for her. So she's got a long road ahead of her," said Chris Deverso, Victoria's father.

Among the witnesses to the crash was an off-duty police officer, who said the SUV Kuss was driving wove in and out of traffic seconds before the fatal crash.

A toxicology report later revealed that Kuss' blood alcohol content was .13 percent and she was driving 80 to 90 miles per hour after leaving a gathering of young people at Sylvan Beach while cutting school.

State Police have spent the last three months getting the toxicology and accident reconstruction reports and trying to obtain statements from the young people the girls had been hanging out with at sylvan beach before the crash. 

"The lack of cooperation from several young people...I believe it's a cultural thing at this point, nobody wants to rat on their friends, it's something that's prevalent that we're faced with quite often...It was very frustrating," said State Police Investigator Donna Wassall.

Kuss was remanded to the Madison County Jail and her bail was set at $10,000 cash or $15,000 bond. The case was waived to a grand jury. District Attorney Bill Gabor said that no new court date has been set.

Liverpool (WSYR-TV) - More than two months after a crash on Route 31 in Bridgeport killed a Liverpool High School student, NewsChannel 9 learned the teen driver who survived the crash was allegedly drunk and speeding. The victim's father spoke Thursday.

Several sources who have seen the toxicology report say 17-year-old Chelsea Kuss had a blood alcohol level of 0.13 and was driving between 80 and 90 miles per hour when she hit a mini van, seriously injuring that driver. The crash killed Kuss' passenger 17-year-old Victoria Deverso.

Victoria's father, Chris Deverso, says that two months after his daugther's death, he continues to hear from her friends. "Everyday gets worse, it's a constant fight with reality, it's a losing battle," he said.

Deverso's apartment is covered in memories of his daughter, including a portrait of Victoria made by friends. Each item is a reminder of the devastating day he lost her, a pain made worse by the recent discovery that Kuss was drunk behind the wheel of his daughter's SUV while she sat sober in the passenger seat. "I wanted to believe this was an accident," he said. "I wanted to believe this was wrong choices at the wrong time and now I'm left with the fact that I don't believe this was God's fate for my daughter, that it was her time to go."

Her family is now not only coping with their loss but also anger as they try to rationalize what happened that day.

"Do I think Chelsea intended on thinking, I'm going to drive drunk and kill my friend?" Chris Deverso asked himself. "No, absolutely not but there are 10 factors she could have taken that may have saved my daughter's life."

Chelsea Kuss's attorney says he has received a copy of the toxicology reports from the Madison County District Attorney's Office and will be hiring an independent expert to review them. The DA will not comment on the case because it is still under investigation.

Teen involved in fatal crash charged with vehicular homicide 9-2-2010
Father opens up about daughter's death in crash 08-05-10
Father speaks out about daughter's death 8-5-2010
Toxicology report links alcohol to deadly crash 8-4-10
Police: Cause of death was blunt-force trauma from crash 5-26-2010
Eyewitnesses offer state police new information on fatal crash 5-26-2010
Liverpool HS holds special meeting to cope with tragedy 5-25-2010
Teenager killed in crash on Route 31 identified 5-24-10
Teenager killed in crash on Route 31 05-24-10
Teenager Killed In Crash 5-24-10

Bridgeport (WSYR-TV) - More than two months after a horrific crash along Route 31 in Bridgeport killed 17-year old Victoria Deverso, NewsChannel 9 has learned the toxicology test shows the teenage driver at fault was drunk.

Several sources very closely connected to this case say that toxicology reports reveal 17-year-old Chelsea Kuss, who was driving the vehicle that Deverso was riding in, allegedly had a blood alcohol content level of 0.13 and was going between 80 and 90 miles per hour on Route 31 when she crashed head-on into a minivan. That impact killed Deverso and severely injured the minivan's driver Peggy Blume.

Blume had actually pulled over and stopped in an attempt to avoid the crash.

Deverso was killed in that crash. She was a junior at Liverpool High School, and since her death, hundreds of her friends and classmates have held vigils and memorials in her honor. Evidence of those vigils is still visible at the crash site.

Toxicology reports show no evidence that Deverso had been drinking during the day of the crash. The question remains, therefore, why Kuss would be driving Deverso's SUV when she had been drinking and Deverso had not.  Deverso's parents may never find an answer to that question.

The Madison County District Attorney's office won't comment on their investigation into this horrific crash and have yet to criminally charge Kuss, despite toxicology reports showing she had a blood alcohol content nearly twice the legal limit. The office is continuing to investigate.

Chelsea Kuss's attorney says he only recently received a copy of the toxicology reports from the DA's office and will be hiring an independent expert to review them.