VETERAN, NY (WENY) -- An Ithaca woman is charged for her alleged role in a fatal car accident that happened in 2023.

Forty-one year old Juria Vanness of Ithaca was arrested by police on a warrant, after a grand jury indictment in Chemung County on February 27.

According to New York State Police, on October 26, 2023, Vanness tried to pass a pickup truck hauling a trailer on Route 13 in Veteran on a double-yellow line. When she couldn't pass, she tried to merge back into the northbound lane, hitting the trailer and causing the pickup and her vehicle to cross back into the southbound lane, and into the path of an oncoming tractor trailer. 

The driver of the pickup, a 25 year old man from Millport, was pronounced dead at the scene. Vanness was not seriously injured, but was airlifted to the hospital for treatment.

The Chemung County grand jury indicted Vanness on multiple charges, including:

  • Vehicular Manslaughter 1st: Previous Conviction within 10 years (C Felony)
  • Vehicular Manslaughter 1st: License Suspended/Revoked (C Felony)
  • Aggravated Unlicensed Operator 1st (E Felony), Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs: Prior Conviction within 10 years (E Felony)
  • Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 7th (A Misdemeanor)

Vanness was arrested after a warrant was issued on March 14; she was arraigned on March 25 and is currently free on bail.

Vanness has prior DWI convictions on her record.