Burgess pleads guilty in triple fatal car crash | Crime

ALBANY - Luann Burgess pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide Friday morning for crashing into a Voorheesville church and killing three women in 2011.

The deal will put her behind bars for up to six months and keep her from ever getting behind the wheel of a car again.

Burgess, 55, had nothing to say as she left the Albany County Courthouse.

Her guilty plea avoids a trial in a case that left three women dead after a horrific crash.

Prosecutors say she was driving an SUV in August 2011 when she lost control, crossing the St. Matthew's Church parking lot and slamming into three women -- killing Rosemarie Hume, Carol Lansing and Fran Pallozzi. The car then hit the side of the church.

Burgess initially claimed that her flip-flop got stuck in the gas pedal.

Toxicology tests showed she had taken anxiety and anti-depressant drugs.

Burgess was charged with nine counts, but Friday pleaded guilty to the lesser charges.