A Westchester judge sentenced former NYPD sergeant Tiffany Howell to four to 12 years for the Taconic crash that killed Manuel Boitel.

A sentence after a guilty plea is the judgment on the counts she admitted. The attorney general said the terms run together, the license is revoked, and the appeal is waived. ABC7 and CBS New York did not quote the same apology, and they did not quote the same words from her son. CBS New York's updated story says she will serve at least four years. The attorney general, ABC7, and Spectrum News say four to 12.

New York Attorney General Letitia James said Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, that former NYPD sergeant Tiffany Howell, 48, of Warwick, in Orange County, was sentenced to concurrent terms of four to 12 years in prison. The attorney general said that on Aug. 19, 2026, Howell pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide, a class B felony, and manslaughter in the second degree, a class C felony, before Judge Anne B. Bianchi in Westchester County Court. The attorney general said Howell's driver license has been revoked and that she has waived her right to appeal. Spectrum News reported the same four-to-12-year sentence, the same two counts, and the same judge's court, and it attributed the announcement to the attorney general. ABC7 reported she was sentenced to four to 12 years after pleading guilty in August to aggravated vehicular homicide and manslaughter. CBS New York, in a story updated at 12:43 p.m. Wednesday, reported she will serve at least four years and that she pleaded guilty in August to aggravated vehicular homicide and manslaughter. Four to 12 years, and at least four years, are not the same printed term. The attorney general's release is the concurrent four-to-12-year sentence.

What she said in court, and what the family said back, is not one quotation. ABC7 reported Howell addressed the family and said she was "deeply sorry." ABC7 quoted her: "I'm not just saying that because that's what is expected of me, I'm saying that because I am truly sorry, and if I could do anything to change what happened that night, I would in a heartbeat." CBS New York quoted a different sentence from the sentencing: "I am profoundly sorry for the pain that I've caused the family and friends. I do take full responsibility. I know I made a terrible decision and I know the consequences are irreversible." ABC7 reported her son Eric Boitel told her, "I hope what you did that night haunts you," and, "He was so much more than the life that was lost that night, he was a father, a husband, and a person whose presence meant everything to the people who loved him." CBS New York quoted Eric Boitel on her job: "As an officer of the law, she knows the damage that drunk driving causes a family. She has seen firsthand the devastation that actions can leave behind. She knows that one reckless decision can take someone's life, tear a family apart and leave loved ones carrying pain for the rest of their lives." ABC7 reported another son, Marvin Boitel, said, "All of this could have been avoided easily if only you would have made better choices that night, you getting four to 12 years is a joke." CBS New York did not print Marvin Boitel's remark. ABC7 reported relatives argued she received preferential treatment and that, as a police officer, she should have known better. ABC7 reported she retired after her arrest following 18 years on the force. Those are the hearing accounts. They are not a second sentence.

The crash account is the attorney general's, and the blood-alcohol wording is not the same in every story. The attorney general said that at 11:37 p.m. on Jan. 22, 2026, Howell was off duty and driving south in the northbound lanes of the Taconic State Parkway in Westchester County at more than 50 mph when she crashed head-on into a car driven by Manuel Boitel, causing his death. The attorney general said her blood alcohol content was at least 0.18, and that Boitel was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead shortly after midnight. Spectrum News reported the same wrong-way crash, the same "at least 0.18," and that he died from his injuries at a hospital shortly after. CBS New York reported prosecutors said the blood-alcohol content was at least 0.18, "which is more than twice the legal limit," and that the attorney general's office said she was going more than 50 mph. ABC7 reported officials say her blood alcohol content was nearly three times the legal limit. At least 0.18, more than twice the legal limit, and nearly three times the legal limit are three descriptions of one test. CBS New York reported Boitel was 61, a husband and father of two from Peekskill, and that he was heading home from a night shift as a doorman at a Manhattan condominium. The attorney general's sentencing release does not print his age, his town, or his job. CBS New York reported she was placed on modified duty after the crash and suspended without pay 11 days later. ABC7 and the attorney general did not print that sequence.

The plea is the August admission. The Wednesday order is the punishment the judge imposed on it. The attorney general said the two prison terms are concurrent, that the license is revoked, and that she waived her appeal. CBS New York's updated headline says she was sentenced and is on her way to prison. Spectrum News's story, published at 11:38 a.m., already reported the four-to-12-year term as imposed. ABC7's story carries a 5:01 p.m. timestamp and reports the same term from the hearing. A term of four to 12 years after a guilty plea is the judgment on those two counts. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.