CORTLAND, N.Y. – A Virgil man who was arrested in April in connection with a crash that left his 6-year-old daughter dead was indicted Friday morning by a grand jury in Cortland County.

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Daniel A. Haynes III, 30, of Virgil, was indicted on 31 counts, including second degree murder, aggravated vehicular homicide, vehicular manslaughter and driving while intoxicated.

Haynes is accused of causing the April 24 crash which sent his three children – ages 6 through 10 – to the hospital. According to police, Haynes was traveling on West State Road at around 8:45 p.m. at a high rate of speed when he lost control of his vehicle, struck a utility pole and came to rest on the shoulder of the road. Two other passengers in the car were treated for minor injuries.

Daniel Haynes

A grand jury concluded Friday that Haynes "engaged in reckless driving of a motor vehicle ... while he was in an intoxicated condition ... in a manner that caused the death of Alexia Haynes," the indictment reads.

Following the news of her death, an online fundraiser was set up to raise money for funeral expenses for the young girl. The effort would raise more than $13,000.

"A horrible thing has happened"

Haynes and two of his friends were drinking and playing pool at Haynes' house prior to the crash, according to court documents. His three daughters were also at the house.

"The girls were with us while we were hanging out," Devon Luomo, a friend of Haynes and a passenger in the car on the night of the crash, said in his police statement. "We weren't getting drunk. Just casually drinking." Luomo said while he drank heavily that night, he had only seen Haynes drink "a couple beers."

They planned on dropping Haynes' daughters off at their mother's house, getting a designated driver and going downtown, Luomo said.

During the car ride, Luomo looked at the dashboard and saw Haynes was driving more than 100 mph. He blew through a stop sign.

Both Luomo and Haynes' daughters yelled at Haynes to slow down. As the car drew closer to a sharp turn, Luomo grabbed the upper handle of the car and braced for impact.

Following the crash, Haynes appeared to express great remorse, telling investigators, "I just did one of the worst things you could ever do in your fucking life," according to court documents.

Haynes was previously convicted on a DWI charge in Tompkins County in 2007.

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