Accused drunk driver mulls sentence for crash

Oct. 12--SALEM -- The driver charged with striking a mother and her two daughters as they crossed Bridge Street in Salem on the day before Halloween last year pleaded guilty Wednesday to drunken driving and other charges.

But Dexter Mitchell, 53, could withdraw that plea and ask for a trial if he decides not to accept Salem District Court Judge Emily Karstetter's proposed sentence.

That term, 2 1/2 years in jail with nine months of that to be served and the balance suspended for three years, will remain on the table until a Nov. 28 status hearing in the case.

Mitchell, who now lives in Gloucester, was charged with drunken driving causing serious injury as a result, leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, and failing to yield to a pedestrian after the Oct. 30, 2016, crash.

Witnesses told police that Mitchell was traveling on Bridge Street, which was crowded with Halloween revelers, when he struck a mother and children.

One of the little girls was sent onto his Subaru and then fell to the pavement, prosecutor Megan MacKenzie told the judge.

A nurse driving behind Mitchell told police the driver of the Subaru appeared to hesitate, then drove away.

MacKenzie told the judge Mitchell later returned to the area, and approached a police officer, identifying himself as the driver.

However, police quickly discovered that before doing so, Mitchell stopped near a dumpster outside a nearby condominium complex and got rid of a dozen beer cans, some empty and some full, that had been in his car, the prosecutor said.

Karstetter proposed the sentence after hearing victim-impact statements from members of the Mason and Goulette families, who traveled back to Salem from their homes in the North Attleboro area for Wednesday's hearing.

Gabrielle Mason, the mother who had taken her twins, then 10, to Salem to celebrate Halloween last Oct. 30, described the struggle her family has faced.

They were about to purchase a home at the time. But the money they had saved for a down payment went to cover bills and living expenses while she was unable to work due to her injuries, she told the judge.

But that, she said, "pales in comparison to having to see my children lying on the ground."

She and the girls' father, Richard Goulette, spoke of the devastation of having to help their daughter reach basic milestones, like learning to walk, all over again.

He told Karstetter how he had to carry his daughter around, as he had done when she was a baby, for months -- how he would wake every two hours to give her medication.

Rowen Goulette, one of the girls who was struck, wrote a letter in which she described feeling "like a burden" to her family as a result of her injuries.

For four months, she was unable to move. For a girl who was once an active gymnast, "those months were the worst time of my life."

"I hope no one ever has to go through what I went through," she wrote.

Her grandfather, Jim Mason, said nothing can give his daughter and granddaughters what they lost that night and in the year since.

His voice broke as he thanked Salem police officers, the bystanders who went to aid the injured and the doctors and nurses who cared for them after the crash.

Mitchell's lawyer, Scott Masse, told Karstetter his client has also suffered during the past year.

Mitchell's wife divorced him, said the lawyer, and he was fired from his job as a paraprofessional at Masconomet Regional High School, the latest in a long history of public service jobs working with disadvantaged youth.

He moved from Beverly to Gloucester and now works for a seafood business in shipping and receiving.

"He is very remorseful, and very concerned," said Masse.

Masse urged the judge to consider that Mitchell spent 90 days in custody in the case, after his bail was revoked last winter for missing two alcohol screens.

Karstetter later took a recess to look at surveillance video of the crash before announcing her proposed sentence.

In addition to the jail time and probation, Mitchell would be required to perform 50 hours of community service and wear a GPS and alcohol monitoring device for the first six months after his release.

He could also be responsible for paying restitution if a proposed settlement with Mitchell's insurance company falls short of covering the family's medical expenses.

Richard Goulette said the family found it "disheartening" that Mitchell did not immediately accept the sentence and that they'll have to return to court next month. They had hoped for closure on Wednesday.

Courts reporter Julie Manganis can be reached at 978-338-2521, by email at jmanganis@salemnews.com or on Twitter at @SNJulieManganis.

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