Former State Lawmaker Pleads Guilty To Drunk Driving Following NYE Crash

VICTOR — A former New York State lawmaker has plead guilty to drunk driving following a crash in his state-issued SUV in 2019.

WHEC reports that Brian Kolb waived his right to appeal after entering the plea in Victor Town Court.

Authorities said Kolb was behind the wheel when his vehicle slid off a driveway and down an embankment near his home in Victor on New Year’s Eve in 2019.

The accident occurred just a week after he wrote a newspaper column warning citizens against getting behind the wheel drunk.

A breath test showed Kolb had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.16 percent, double the legal limit of 0.08 percent for driving, according to a court filing by an Ontario County sheriff’s deputy.

Although initially blaming the crash on his wife, Kolb admitted to drinking four or five cocktails at a restaurant earlier in the evening, according to court papers.

Four days after the crash, Kolb stepped down from his position as the leader of the Assembly’s Republican minority and announced he was not running for reelection in November 2020.