Greenfield man pleads guilty in 2024 hit-and-run case

GREENFIELD — Vladimir Sinigur, the 57-year-old Greenfield man who struck and injured two women with his truck in 2024 before fleeing the scene, pleaded guilty on five charges in Franklin County Superior Court on Wednesday afternoon.

Sinigur was charged with two counts of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury, one count of leaving the scene of personal injury, one count of leaving the scene of property damage and one count of negligent operation of a motor vehicle.

Appearing before Judge Jeremy Bucci, Assistant District Attorney Tom Robinson, the case’s prosecutor, suggested that Sinigur be sentenced to two and a half years in custody.

Although Bucci scheduled a sentencing and restitution hearing for April 7, defense attorney Neil Smith agreed with the prosecution’s proposed sentence, noting that he needed some time to decide how much to propose his client pay the victims in restitution.

The Greenfield Police Department arrested Sinigur in October 2024, not long after he struck two Greenfield women — Jane Perry and Faine Furstenfeld — with a gray Toyota Tundra pickup truck near the intersection of Country Club Road and Brookside Avenue.

Using Flock surveillance photos and nearby security camera footage, the Greenfield Police Department, Robinson said, was able to identify Sinigur and the truck on Deerfield Street.

Providing victim impact statements before Bucci on Wednesday, both victims reported suffering from physical and cognitive impairments after the hit-and-run.

“My life’s been changed, I have had unbelievable medical bills; I still have a lot of problems with my leg. It will never get better as a result of what I went through. During the healing, my rotator cuff was torn. That will never get better either, because I have to use my arm. This man does not seem to have a sense of what he did to two senior women on a beautiful, bright, sunshiny day with no traffic coming at all,” Perry said. “Why did he turn into us and not around us? I still cannot understand that. Where was his mind at that point?”

Furstenfeld, too, spoke of the impact the hit-and-run had on her life, explaining that the incident began a downward spiral for her, from which she does not believe she will recover.

“I have brain damage permanently from this situation, so I have a hard time talking and getting my thoughts clearly out. … What happened that day has ruined my entire life,” Furstenfeld said. “I am suffering every minute of my life. Since Oct. 18, 2024, my life has been nothing but deteriorating on every level. … I pray that I will make it through this. And what he has done to me, this is a slow decline to the grave, because things are shutting down inside of me and I can’t function. I am losing my life slowly.”