— Nicole Fay Barr

KNOX — Justin T. Landauer pleaded guilty in county court Tuesday to second-degree manslaughter and driving while intoxicated, after a June crash killed a Binghamton professor, Gary Lehmann.

Landauer, 27, of 417 Beebe Road, Knox, now faces 28 months to seven years in prison for the felony manslaughter charge. He may also have to pay a fine for driving while intoxicated.

He will be sentenced on Dec. 13, by Judge Stephen W. Herrick.
"We’re pleased with the outcome of this," Richard Arthur, a spokesman for the Albany County District Attorney, told The Enterprise. "We share the victims’ concerns that the laws pertaining to the prosecution of drunk driving need to be strengthened."

Lehmann, a professor of mechanical engineering at the State University of New York at Binghamton, was on his way to join his wife and three young children for a 10th anniversary party when he was killed.
"He didn’t have a chance," Albany County Sheriff James Campbell said earlier of the 47-year-old.

The accident happened on June 23. Police said earlier that, after consuming a significant amount of alcohol, Landauer, driving a pickup truck, sped across the center line on Route 443 in Knox, and collided head-on with Lehmann’s car.

Landauer’s father, the former Knox highway superintendent, is running again for the post in this year’s election.