Posted on 03/10/2004 3:56:04 PM PST by chance33_98
Mom of dead toddler pleads for killer's release Wednesday, March 10, 2004
By MARSHA DORGAN Register Staff Writer
The mother of a 3-year-old killed in a Napa County car accident pleaded with the judge not to send the driver of the vehicle to prison.
The judge listened.
On Tuesday, Napa County Superior Court Judge Richard Bennett sentenced Donald Doll, a convicted felon, to five years probation.
Under the "Three Strikes" law, Doll, 28, of Vacaville, was looking at spending up to 25 years in state prison.
Doll pleaded no contest to one count of felony manslaughter and one count of child endangerment.
Doll is responsible for the death of Matthew Doll, 3, as well as injuries to three girls, 13, 15, and 5, and a 14-year-old boy, all of Vacaville.
The fatal crash happened March 23, 2003, on Knoxville Berryessa Road, when Doll lost control of his Toyota and crashed into an oncoming pickup driven by Russell Crosetti, 26, of Acampo. Crosetti was not injured.
Matthew, Donald Doll's cousin, died six days later at UC Davis Medical Center from massive head injuries.
On the day of the crash, Doll had loaded up the five children and himself in his four-passenger Toyota and headed to Lake Berryessa for a day of swimming and fun.
Prior to his sentencing, the court received more than a dozen letters from the victims' family and other family members and friends, pleading with Judge Bennett not to send Doll to prison.
In a letter to the Judge Bennett, Matthew's mother and Donald Doll's aunt wrote, "the incident was an accident. Donald is a family man and would never intentionally hurt my son. He is a hard-working and very good man who is very good with children. I will be very upset if Donald is convicted, and I am upset that the other driver is not pending charges.
"I feel this was an accident, and accidents happen all the time. It was not (Donald's) fault."
Doll's wife and mother of the 5-year-old injured in the accident also asked Judge Bennett to show mercy.
"The car accident was tragic, but it was just that, an accident. It was not intentional or criminal. Sending him to prison would be a great injustice. We have suffered enough."
The father of the injured 15- and 13-year-old girls wrote that while "Donald showed bad judgment that day that resulted in tragedy, the kids look up to him as a positive role model. His error in judgment doesn't constitute a child endangerment or vehicle manslaughter, but must be met with compassion and understanding."
Several other letters from Doll's grandmother and friends echoed the victims' request to spare Doll from a life in prison.
Lee Philipson, deputy district attorney, said the prosecution had initially intended to seek a prison sentence for Doll.
But after hearing the statements of the victims' parents requesting leniency for Doll, the prosecution agreed to accept the defense motion to give Doll probation instead of prison time.
"After listening to the family of the victims who said they didn't want Mr. Doll to go to prison or even be prosecuted ... hearing how strongly they felt about the defendant, it would have been wrong to send him to prison," Philipson said. "Granting the defense motion was the right thing to do."
Defense attorney Ron Abernethy said Doll is "absolutely remorseful. Matthew was like a son to him. Donald has expressed openly that he wished it was him that would have died, not Matthew."
The day of the crash Doll was traveling between 60 to 65 mph. The 13-year-old girl was sitting on the lap of the 15-year-old in the front seat. The two shared one seatbelt.
Matthew and the 5-year-old were in child restraint seats in the back seat. The 14-year-old boy was sitting between the youngsters. He did not have a seatbelt.
Investigators later determined the children's car seats were not properly installed. During a later interview with sheriff's investigators, Doll said, "I grew up packing a car with people."
Neither alcohol nor drugs were not a factor in the accident, according to the CHP.
In addition to the fatality, the 15-year-old suffered a deep cut to her forehead. The 13-year-old suffered a broken femur, cuts and bruises. The 14-year-old boy suffered a broken wrist, ribs, pelvis, punctured lung and cuts and bruises. The 5-year-old complained of pain to her neck and back.
Doll told investigators the car had mechanical problems, and that it pulled to the right when the brakes were applied.
CHP investigators determined the right front tire of the Toyota was bald.
Doll also told investigators he was extremely remorseful and admitted he made a bad judgment. "I am hurting for the loss of my cousin and will have to deal with the pain for the rest of my life."
Doll is no stranger to the law.
In March 1994, he was convicted of armed robbery with great bodily injury and assault with a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to seven years in prison. After he was paroled, he was arrested four times for violating his parole. In 2002, he was arrested and convicted in Fairfield of a misdemeanor and sentenced to three years probation.
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