In December of 2013 in Washington, a young man was racing his girlfriend who was in another car. She lost control of her vehicle, crashed it and she was killed, as was her best friend.
That young man was charged with vehicular homicide and pleaded guilty. This charge could have gotten him 20 years in prison. The man was remorseful and gained the support and forgiveness of his two dead friends’ families. The parents of both girls asked the court to reduce the sentence to felony hit-and-run.
Unfortunately, the man got into trouble with the law while awaiting his sentence for under aged drinking at a casino. It hurt the families of the girls so much that they then went back to the judge and rescinded not only the request for lesser charges but their forgiveness as well.
What was supposed to be a healing process only opened the wounds once more when he betrayed their trust by getting into trouble with the law. While the man didn’t think ahead of time that he would kill his girlfriend, it seems thoughtless to get into additional trouble.
Even though the man said that he would go to prison for life if it would bring the girls back, the family of his girlfriend said that they felt great anger and also felt that he disregarded them completely by seeming to go on happily with his life.
The judge told the young man that everyone was trying to help him greatly but he had to first help himself.
The man ended up going to prison for 14 months instead of 12 months as originally required due to the change in charges. If he is sentenced for under aged drinking and found guilty, an additional year will be added to his sentence.
In a case of death that is due to a car accident that is not your fault, the heartbreak is real and close-to-home. Getting help from a professional can ease your mind and give you a vital sense of justice.
Source: King5.com, “Driver in fatal racing crash gets 14-month sentence” Elisa Hahn, Jun. 23, 2014
