Drunken driver in high-speed fatal crash offered 6 year sentence

July 19--SALEM -- A judge on Tuesday said he would impose a six to 10-year state prison term if the man responsible for a high-speed, drunken fatality on Route 95 in Boxford last September pleads guilty rather than goes to trial in the case.

Nathaniel Armstrong, 23, of Newburyport, who is charged with manslaughter and vehicular homicide while under the influence of alcohol, will have a month to think about the offer from Salem Superior Court Judge Timothy Feeley.

On Tuesday, he apologized to the family of Geoffrey Stevens, 45, who was also from Newburyport, for acting "in the most selfish way I've ever acted" on the evening of September 10, 2016.

After a day of drinking and golfing with two friends in Wenham, a day that included two runs to a liquor store for beer and Fireball cinnamon whiskey nips, Armstrong and one of his friends headed north on Route 95 in Armstrong's Chevrolet Impala.

Stevens was still driving his 14-year-old Saturn, which he was about to replace with a new car he'd just purchased but hadn't yet picked up. The old car broke down just before Route 97 in Boxford, and Stevens pulled into the breakdown lane, as far over as he could, the car straddling the grass, said prosecutor Michael Sheehan.

Armstrong, according to multiple witnesses, was speeding and driving so recklessly, said Sheehan, that state police received multiple 911 calls from other drivers on the road.

He came up on a woman driving in the first lane. She told police Armstrong attempted to pass her in the breakdown lane.

Instead, he collided with the Saturn, flipping the car. Armstrong continued north a short distance, on three wheels, until he crashed into a highway sign, said Sheehan.

An accident reconstruction determined that just before impact, Armstrong's car was going 102 miles an hour.

And three hours after the crash, he had a blood alcohol level of .12, 1 1/2 times the legal limit.

Sheehan recommended a sentence of seven to 10 years.

"There is no limit to the guilt I feel and no limit to the pain you have lived through," Armstrong told the family of Stevens during a hearing. "I just want you to know I am so sorry."

For the family of Stevens, it was the first time they had heard any expression of remorse.

In the moments after the crash, Armstrong and his passenger ran to try to help Stevens.

But while he told state troopers he knew he was going too fast, he also claimed Stevens had suddenly "braked" in front of him.

It was only after his passenger mentioned the trips to the liquor store, in a separate interview, that police realized Armstrong had also been drinking.

"You, Nathaniel, chose to drink and drive, you chose to drive at a speed of over 100 miles per hour, and to endanger the lives of everyone on that highway," said Stevens' mother, Patricia Stevens, in a victim-impact statement.

As she spoke of how the loss of Stevens has affected her family, Armstrong began to cry.

It was also hard to hear details of the crash, and that Armstrong had initially tried to blame Stevens. "What kind of person tries to blame the victim?" Patricia Stevens asked.

And because Armstrong lacked insurance, not only did she lose her son, but her savings, she told the judge. She also blames the death of her son for serious health problems she has suffered since.

Then, she and her family learned that Armstrong would be released to live at home with his parents in Newburyport, in the same West End neighborhood, just a mile away.

Feeley had agreed to release Armstrong last September, just days after a Haverhill District Court judge found Armstrong too dangerous to release. Prior to the crash Armstrong had lived in Peabody and in Amesbury.

Stevens' sister said her parents had to worry about running into Armstrong or his family every time they walked their dog.

Armstrong later surrendered himself back into custody in January.

The judge also heard from Stevens' father, Lee, and his best friend, Bradley Davis, whose kids knew the victim as "Uncle Geoff."

"You took their Uncle Geoffrey away," Davis told Armstrong.

Armstrong's lawyer, John Andrews, acknowledged the pain of the victim's family and friends, but suggested to the judge that Armstrong has acknowledged his guilt.

"He gets it," said Andrews.

"This is a man who made a grievous mistake that has caused enormous pain," to the Stevens family, said Andrews. "There is nothing he can do to temper that pain."

Andrews urged the judge to consider Armstrong's lack of a prior record and the positive contributions he has made in his life. "What occurred last September was aberrant behavior," said Andrews.

He asked Feeley to impose a 2 1/2 to three year prison term.

Feeley said the decision was among the hardest he has been called to make.

"There are no more difficult cases to assess for a fair and just sentence than a case like this," said Feeley.

The judge called Sheehan's recommendation "very reasonable."

"There is not much in the way of mitigation," said the judge. "His conduct was as extremely reckless and wanton as can be imagined."

"There are some bells that can't be unrung," the judge continued. "As much as Mr. Armstrong would like to have that day back, the family of Geoffrey Stevens would like to have him back."

Feeley said he reduced the sentence requested by the district attorney's office by a year in light of Armstrong's acceptance of responsibility and his apparent remorse.

A hearing was scheduled for Aug. 17 for Armstrong to either enter a guilty plea or ask for a trial.

Courts reporter Julie Manganis can be reached at 978-338-2521, by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at @SNJulieManganis.

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