Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 16, 1993 TAG: 9312160251
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
John Walton Stover sobbed as he described his grief for having killed 9-year-old Dustin Washburn while racing another car on Peters Creek Road in June.
At one point, Stover turned toward Dustin's parents, seated in the front row of the courtroom Wednesday, and raised his eyes to meet theirs.
"I'm very sorry for taking your son from you," said Stover, who pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. "If I could have given my own life to bring him back, he would be here now."
John and Robin Washburn cried and looked away.
Minutes earlier, John Washburn had asked Roanoke County Circuit Judge Kenneth Trabue to impose the maximum 10-year prison sentence.
"I feel that [Dustin] was murdered by the actions of another individual. . . . He has been taken away from me for a lifetime," John Washburn said.
Stover crashed into the rear of Robin Washburn's car - killing Dustin - while racing another car June 3.
Stover, 20, was driving that night in defiance of a court order stemming from a drunken-driving conviction. His license had been restricted for use only while driving to and from school and work.
Co-defendant Scott Robert Manning, 19, of Plymouth Drive is scheduled to stand trial on a manslaughter charge Jan. 10.
The fatal wreck has provided a rallying cry for advocates of tougher laws to keep suspended drivers off the roads. The Virginia General Assembly will consider some of the measures when it convenes in January.
On Wednesday, Stover testified that he should have known better than to go out for a night of drinking and driving. Although he had consumed several beers, he passed sobriety field tests after the accident.
"I don't have any excuse," he said. "It had been eight months since the DUI conviction, and it just wasn't as fresh in my mind."
Roanoke County Commonwealth's Attorney F.W. "Skip" Burkart argued that Stover's irresponsibility fit a pattern that deserved "significant" punishment.
As a juvenile, Stover had spent time at a detention home because he failed to comply with conditions of probation for a string of burglaries, Burkart said.
On the night of the accident, Stover ignored a court order not to drive.
"What is it going to take to stop you from making bad decisions?" Burkart asked.
"The car wreck has done it," Stover replied.
With more than 50 friends gathered in the courtroom, Stover sought to rebut the perception that he had little remorse for his actions.
That perception grew when Stover betrayed no emotion during two previous court appearances, and when police officers testified earlier that Stover displayed a "carefree attitude" at the accident scene.
"I am not the person everyone says I am," Stover said. "I am very sorry."
Witnesses said that Stover was inconsolable when he learned, the day after the accident, that Dustin had died.
"He sat in the chair and cried and cried and cried," Nancy M. Stover, his mother, said.
Stover, a high-school dropout, had earned a high school equivalency certificate and was working his way through Virginia Western Community College at the time of the accident.
His attorney, John Lichtenstein of Roanoke, argued that Stover had taken responsibility for his actions and deserved a chance to turn his life around.
But Burkart asked for the maximum of 10 years, arguing that Stover would still be eligible for release in a few years.
That was a second chance that young Dustin Washburn would never get, Burkart said.
Trabue struck a compromise between the maximum and the sentencing guidelines, which called for no more than a 12-month sentence.
Stover was sentenced to 10 years for involuntary manslaughter, 12 months for reckless driving and six months for driving on a suspended license.
Trabue suspended all but six years of the sentences.
Stover could be eligible for parole within 12 to 18 months.
After his release, Stover will be on probation for 10 years and must serve 400 hours of community service warning others about the dangers of drinking and driving.
Trabue also suspended Stover's license for two years.
He could lose his license for an additional 10 years. Burkart said his office would begin the process of declaring Stover a habitual traffic offender.
Robin Washburn said she hoped publicity from the case would deter others from drinking and driving.
"On that highway, my life was changed . . . in a matter of seconds," she said. "And it will never be the same again. Never."
by CNB