Passenger sues driver in crash

QUEENSBURY — A Queensbury man who police said left his injured passenger for dead on the side of the road after an alcohol-related car crash last fall has been sued for $1.5 million.

Patrick J. Molloy, who was critically injured in the Nov. 29 crash on Bay Road in Queensbury, filed the lawsuit late last month against both the driver of the vehicle, Matthew T. Langlois, 29, of Queensbury, and its owner, Mark A. Wood, who is Langlois' father.

Molloy, 28, of Glens Falls, was hurt when he was thrown from the front seat of the 1989 Chevrolet Suburban that Langlois was driving.

Langlois faces a felony charge of vehicular assault and misdemeanor counts of leaving the scene of a personal injury accident and driving while intoxicated.

Warren County sheriff's officers said Langlois fled the scene after he sheared a utility pole in half and hit a rock wall, leaving Molloy unconscious nearby.

Police said Langlois hid in his nearby home on Old Bay Road after passers-by followed him there. Before entering the home, he told one witness that he was alone in the vehicle and he then refused to come to the door until police arrived.

Molloy spent nearly two weeks in Albany Medical Center. His lawyer, Brian Lee, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

The lawsuit stalled a plea deal in the criminal case Wednesday, at least temporarily.

Langlois was in Warren County Court on Wednesday, and his case was listed for a guilty plea and sentencing.

But his lawyer, Walter Law, said he didn't want to go any further in the case until he could talk to Langlois' father and his lawyer about his lawsuit.

"He was somewhat confused as to how to proceed," Law said of Langlois.

Warren County Judge John Hal agreed to adjourn the case for a week.

Warren County District Attorney Kate Hogan said her office was seeking the maximum sentence for langlois — 4 years in prison — on the charge of second-degree vehicular assault.

She said it was an example of why the state needs tougher laws targeting alcohol-related crashes, because the maximum sentence did not seem stiff enough in light of the allegations.

Langlois is also still on parole for a 2001 felony criminal contempt conviction in Warren County, and may have to serve additional prison time in that case.

The above article is reprinted from:
The Post-Star, Local Section
Thursday, March 11, 2004
© The Post-Star, 2004
Used by permission.