KINGSTON – Former State Trooper Christopher Baldner, 47, of Catskill was sentenced on Tuesday to 2 1/2 to seven years in state prison on a manslaughter charge in connection with the death of an 11-year-old girl in an incident on the Thruway in Ulster County.

Monica Goods was killed when Baldner rammed his marked State Police car into the family vehicle driven by the child’s father, Tristin Goods, at aruond 11:40 p.m. on December 22, 2020. Monica was ejected from the car and died after it flipped over.

Goods, his wife and two daughters, were on their way home for Christmas driving northbound on the Thruway when Baldner pulled them over for speeding. During the stop, the trooper deployed pepper spray into the car and Goods sped away.

During the pursuit, Baldner rammed his police car into the rear of the Goods’ car twice. It overturned after the second strike.