Trooper Christopher Baldner found guilty of manslaughter, chased a car, ramming it twice. 11 year old died

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https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/14/nyregion/new-york-trooper-guilty-manslaughter-11-year-old.html

Christopher Baldner, then a New York State trooper, rammed a family’s car during a high-speed chase in 2020, killing 11-year-old Monica Goods.


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The conviction this week comes more than five years after Mr. Baldner pulled the car Monica was riding in over for speeding in what would become a fatal encounter. On the night of Dec. 22, 2020, Monica’s father, Tristin Goods, was driving Monica, her sister, Tristina, 12, and his partner, April, to visit relatives for Christmas.

It was a little before midnight when Mr. Baldner pulled the family’s Dodge Journey S.U.V. over for speeding outside Kingston, about an hour and a half north of New York City. In the exchange that followed, Mr. Goods began to argue with Mr. Baldner. Mr. Goods then asked to speak to a supervisor, at which point Mr. Baldner responded by squirting pepper spray into the car.


Fearing for his safety, Mr. Goods drove off at a high speed, his lawyer, Joseph O’Connor, has said. Mr. Baldner followed, reaching a top speed of 130 miles per hour before twice ramming his car into the Goodses’ vehicle, prosecutors said. The force of the second impact sent the car careening into a center guard rail, where it flipped and eventually landed on its roof.

Monica was ejected from the car and fatally injured. Her father, his partner and her 12-year-old sister survived.