Posted on 11/03/2019 5:01:01 AM PST by csvset
The driver in a head-on Delaware crash that killed five members of a New Jersey family has been sentenced to one year of probation.
Alvin Hubbard III of Cambridge was sentenced Friday. He pleaded guilty in June to five misdemeanor counts of operating a motor vehicle causing death and two misdemeanor counts of vehicular assault.
The judge gave the 46-year-old Hubbard the maximum combined sentence of 14 years but suspended the prison time for a year of probation. Prosecutors sought a six-month sentence.
Mary Rose Ballocanag, 52, of Teaneck, New Jersey, her husband Audie Trinidad, 61, and their four daughters Kaitlyn, 20, Danna, 17, and twins Allison and Melissa, 13, were returning from a trip to Ocean City, Maryland, in July of last year when a pickup truck driven by Hubbard crossed a median and hit their minivan, investigators said.
Ballocanag survived. Her husband and four daughters all died.
"Part of me died that day," Ballocanag said about the crash.
Hubbard and his passenger walked away without serious injuries.
Investigators took more than three months to conclude the investigation leading to charges against Hubbard. They determined that Hubbard operated his truck in a criminally negligent manner when he exited his lane of travel, crossed the center median between a multi-lane highway, and crashed into oncoming traffic.
Hubbard was initially charged with five counts of second-degree vehicular homicide, three counts of vehicular assault and other offenses.
Ballocanag's attorney stated last October that she planned to file a civil suit against Hubbard after the investigation.
“Investigators took more than three months to conclude the investigation leading to charges against Hubbard. They determined that Hubbard operated his truck in a criminally negligent manner.”
You see that as determinative???? SO DO I!
It took them THREE MONTHS to come up with these charges!!!
If his blood alcohol level was .08% or above it would have taken 5 minutes or any other legitimate negligence. They couldn’t find any, even after 3 months.
It was an accident.
LEOs will tell you that they have never had to unbuckle a DEAD person.
Not their “fault”, but just sayin’.
Seat belts and air bags SAVE LIVES! Be proactive, buckle up and INSIST that EVERYONE in your car does so. Your family’s lives may depend on it. You can’t control or prevent what some other driver could do, but you can do THIS.
You have time to just STOP. I will say, that when I had the conditions (a persistent cough) that might cause an “attack” I would have my wife drive.
It doesn’t happen any more thank God!
...as certain as you are that he wasn’t irresponsible???
On a major highway at rush hour, in the left lane? (Which seems to be this dude’s situation.)
Oh, and good for you!
My point is that I don't think for a hot second that justice is served when a traffic accident that causes the deaths of five people results in probation for the person that caused the deaths, even if unintentional. Such a decision reeks of a thought process that goes something like: "Well, because the defendant didn't kill the five people on purpose and because the five people are all dead and we cannot do anything more for them (or, even worse, 'we can't bring them back'), why should we ruin the life of a person for making a 'simple driving mistake' even if the independent review of the facts detemined the 'simple driving mistake' was due to criminal negligence?"
Do I think the "mother who took a quick glance at her baby in the back seat to see why it (sic) was crying and in doing so crossed the center line" should be sent to jail for decades for killing five people? Of course not; but I also think the investigators would not have concluded "criminal negligence" for such a cause even if it resulted in multiple deaths. But I do think some jail time is warranted, along with a lifetime suspension of driving privileges, for killing -- killing -- a family, particularly in view of the conclusion of "criminal negligence" by the investigators. Justice for the victims, I think, requires more than simply a monetary penalty. (Then again, the victims are dead so I suppose the law and justice no longer applies to them.)
Yep. Driving is an inherently dangerous activity. Sometimes accidents happen. I believe the sentence was just.
Did a quick search. Fatality resulting from falling asleep behind the wheel, even if diagnosed sleep apnea, appears to usually get 2-3 years in jail. FYI.
But I would think previously undiagnosed would not be the same?
If you know you’re a hazard, that’s something else.
I certainly presume he’s not on Twitter by now...
2-3 years typical for falling asleep and killling someone, regardless.
He was low on sleep. Must assume he knew that.
Passenger guy not staring at him while driving...typical guy action.
“...cough syncope...”
I know it well. The cough usually comes out of nowhere and emanates from deep in the chest. I’ve never passed out but have gotten light headed enough to consider laying down right there. Tightening your butt, thigh and abdominal muscles tends to counteract the bloody thing. Not funny if driving.
I have no certainty about that at all.
10 people die every day on Texas roads, yet we all think cars give us freedom. The biggest problem now is the very dangerous roads we are given. Opposing traffic deaths can mostly be eliminated with one way roads.
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