Accused drunken driver mulls sentence for crash
But
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
Mitchell, who now lives in
Witnesses told police that Mitchell was traveling on
One of the little girls was sent onto his
A nurse driving behind Mitchell told police the driver of the
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
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,
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.
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,
His voice broke as he thanked
Mitchell's lawyer,
Mitchell's wife divorced him, said the lawyer, and he was fired from his job as a paraprofessional at
He moved from
"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Masse urged the judge to consider that Mitchell spent 90 days in custody in the case, after his bail was revoked last winter for missing two alcohol screens.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.
Courts reporter
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