Redwood man admits guilt in August hit-and-run death

A Redwood man admitted Wednesday in Jefferson County Court that his vehicle struck and killed a town of Alexandria man in a hit-and-run accident in August.

Brian C. Farmer, 46, of 46711 County Route 11, pleaded guilty to second-degree vehicular manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident involving serious injury or death.

He is expected to be sentenced Sept. 8 to 31/2 to 7 years in state prison, according to a contemplated sentence outlined in court.

He was indicted in January on charges of second-degree vehicular homicide, criminally negligent homicide, leaving the scene of an accident involving death and driving while intoxicated.

Police charged that he was driving drunk Aug. 4 on County Route 192 in the town of Alexandria when his vehicle struck Jay S. Peterson Jr., 21. Sheriff John P. Burns said in August that the accident was reported by two girls who heard what sounded like a car door shutting and, when they looked out, saw the victim lying in the road.

Mr. Peterson, a 2005 graduate of Indian River Central School, Philadelphia, was taken to River Hospital, Alexandria Bay, where he was pronounced dead.

Under questioning Wednesday from Judge Kim H. Martusewicz, Mr. Farmer admitted he knew he had struck something in the road with his Ford Windstar, but was unaware it was a person. He also admitted that police later found pieces of Mr. Peterson's flesh on his vehicle.

He is expected to be sentenced to two to four years in prison for the vehicular-manslaughter conviction and a consecutive 11/2 to 3 years in prison for leaving the scene of the accident.

Mr. Farmer is a two-time convicted felon, having pleaded guilty in 1997 to selling heroin to an undercover police officer. He was sentenced in Jefferson County Court in that case to 11/2 to 41/2 years in state prison. He also pleaded guilty to possession of 162 bags of heroin in 2000 and was sentenced in County Court to three to six years in state prison as a second-felony offender.