In Albany, 73-year-old Thomas McGrath has been sentenced to four to 12 years in prison for causing a crash that killed 17-year-old Michael Kleinke Jr., a Colonie High School senior. On Tuesday (July 1), Albany County Court Judge Andra Ackerman handed down the sentence after McGrath pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter and driving while ability impaired by drugs and alcohol.
The tragic incident occurred on May 11, 2023, when McGrath, under the influence of a potent mix of Vicodin, fentanyl, Methadone, and beer, crossed the center line on Route 85 in Bethlehem, striking Kleinke’s vehicle head-on. Kleinke, who was just weeks away from graduating, died from his injuries two days later.
During the sentencing, seven of Kleinke’s family members delivered emotional victim impact statements, describing the profound loss they have experienced. Michael’s father, Michael Kleinke Sr., expressed the family’s ongoing anguish, saying, “Torture is all I can find for a word to equate to how it feels to attend a graduation and not watch my son walk across the stage.”…