Morgan Lange admitted to evidence tampering as prosecutors highlighted her actions after the collision and during the pending criminal case.
BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. — A woman accused of removing an open alcoholic drink from her car after fatally running over a co-worker has pleaded guilty to evidence tampering and vehicular manslaughter in Saratoga County Court.
Morgan Lange, 34, of Glenville, entered the two felony pleas Monday in the death of Joshua Soden, 29. While the manslaughter charge addresses the Sept. 8, 2025, collision outside Bentley’s Tavern, the second charge reflects conduct investigators said occurred before police reached the Malta parking lot.
Authorities said Lange removed an open can of hard seltzer from her Hyundai Sonata and asked a co-worker to get rid of it. The act led to a charge of tampering with physical evidence, a Class E felony that can carry a prison term of up to 1⅓ to four years.
Police said Lange had been drinking before driving over Soden, who also worked at the restaurant. He became trapped beneath the car and was freed by State Police troopers and Malta Ridge firefighters. He died at Albany Medical Center Hospital 12 days later.
Testing showed Lange had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.12% after the incident, according to police. Second-degree vehicular manslaughter, the other charge to which she pleaded guilty, is a Class D felony carrying a maximum term of 2⅓ to seven years.
Saratoga County District Attorney Brett Eby said prosecutors did not extend a negotiated plea offer. He said the statutory sentencing range did not adequately account for Soden’s death when considered alongside Lange’s conduct after the collision and while the prosecution remained pending.
That later conduct included a separate dispute over Lange’s driving privileges. Her license had been suspended after the fatal incident, but a court paperwork error led the state Department of Motor Vehicles to issue her a conditional license, according to Eby and previously published reports.
The district attorney’s office investigated after receiving reports that Lange was driving. Eby said prosecutors informed County Court Judge Francine R. Vero once the investigation was completed, and the judge suspended Lange’s license again.
Prosecutors later accused Lange of falsely claiming that she needed the conditional license to drive to work at Bentley’s Tavern even though she was no longer employed there. The Times Union reported that she was arrested Oct. 14 on a charge of offering a false instrument. The disposition of that separate charge was not detailed in the announcement of Monday’s pleas.
The evidence-tampering and manslaughter sentences could be imposed consecutively, exposing Lange to as much as 11 years in prison. WNYT reported that Vero is expected to impose a term of 2⅓ to seven years, but the sentence will not become final until the court proceeding.
Sentencing is expected in December, although no specific date has been announced. Soden’s family has also notified Lange and Bentley’s Tavern that it intends to file a civil lawsuit, according to WNYT.
Author note: Last updated July 29, 2026.