| On Friday, March 22, 2002, the one year anniversary of the day Neal was buried, he can finally rest in peace. |
| The Sentencing |
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| We got to the Arlington County Court House around 9:00am. Court was to start at 9:30am. The paramedic in the rear of the ambulance was there waiting in the lobby. He said Bill (the driver) had already gone up. We headed up to the courtroom, and waited for court to start. The Commonwealth's Attorney was in trial in another courtroom and we had to wait. Since I had Ashleigh, we opted to wait in another room instead of possibly disturbing court. After waiting for a while, we ended up getting started with the sentencing at about 11:30. |
| They had opening remarks, and then I was the first to testify. I got up on the stand and told of how this has affected me, the family, and the affects that I believe our daughter will suffer and what Neal's lifetime goals were when it came to public service. I cried, but according to others, I maintained control really well and Nealy would have been proud of me. The other paramedic was next to testify. He was actually requested to be there by the defense, but the prosecution called him. He shed a lot of light on the situation, including past driving issues. Things that would have come out in the trial had Bill not entered an Alford Plea. The defense then cross examined him and when he asked if he noted any jerky movements or anything just prior to the crash, he answered "No, it was a smooth ride all the way into the guardrail." I think most of the people in the courtroom let out a little chuckle. I think it was funny the way he said it, but it was more ironic than anything else, since Bill for the past year has said a car cut him off and he swerved to avoid hitting the car. |
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| Bill read a letter of apology and stated that it was very possible that the accident was caused by fatigue. He stated that if he could change anything about that morning and replace his life for Neal's he would do it without hesitation. He also stated that the reason he hadn't contacted me or any other member of Neal's family was because he didn't think we'd want to hear from him and that he was afraid to. After it was all over and done with, the Victim's Advocate asked that we have that letter for Ashleigh for when she gets older. He signed it and gave it to his attorney and his attorney brought it to the Commonwealth's Attorney to give to me. |
| As the Judge started to pass sentence, you could see that he was visibly moved with what had happened. He stated the police, fire, and rescue personnel are a rare breed who dedicate their lives to public service and they'd long been his heroes even before 9-11. He then passed the sentence. |
| Bill was sentenced to: 12 months in jail, all suspended pending 3 years satisfactory Probation Court-ordered Counseling 200 hours of community service, which is to be performed at the local fire and rescue stations discussing his personal experience and that driving tired can kill or seriously injure someone Restitution for unreimbursed medical and burial expenses. |
| The Judge finished by saying that no sentence he could pass would bring back the life of a man who had made the choice of dedicating his life to public service nor allow the other paramedic to ever be in the rescue field again. He went on to say that police, fire, and rescue personnel are a family of their own. And finally, he told Bill his harshest sentence in life will be to live with the knowledge that he killed one of his own and seriously injured another preventing him from doing what he had studied for and loved. |
| In my opinion and that of our families, the sentence was fair. We all agree that while we all asked for jail time, that it would not really have done much good. The community service idea came from Neal's Mom's letter and I think that was a very good idea. I never would have thought of something like that. I think that it will keep it very fresh in Bill's mind what he did. I think aside from Neal's death, our biggest problem was that no one took responsibility for or was being held accountable for what happened to him. It was as though his death may have gone unpunished. I don't think that has happened. In my opinion, if just one EMT, Firefighter, or Paramedic listens to what Bill has to say to them and takes the steps to prevent doing the same thing, and if just one life is saved, Neal most certainly did not die in vain, and that, even Neal would be proud of. Neal was most certainly not about
vengeance or hate, he was about learning, love, and preventing the same mistakes. His death, although we may never know, is something that may end up saving lives all over the country. And that is something we can all live with. |
Case Closed
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