A divided state appeals panel has ordered a new trial for a man convicted of drunken driving, ruling that the trial judge should have admitted a hearsay statement from a 19-year-old woman without a driver’s license who told an investigator that she was actually the one driving the car because the statement was an admission against her penal interest.
The 3-2 Appellate Division, First Department, panel ruled Tuesday in People v. Soto, 43587C/10, that the man, city bus driver Victor Soto, was denied a fair trial because Bronx Supreme Court Justice Megan Tallmer did not allow the hearsay statement.
