THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Saturday, March 23, 1996               TAG: 9603230283
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 
DATELINE: FREDERICKSBURG                     LENGTH: Medium:   52 lines

DRUNKEN DRIVER MUST PAY PARALYZED VICTIM 15% OF HIS LIFE'S PAY HIGHLY UNUSUAL PLEA AGREEMENT APPEARS TO BE A FIRST, EXPERTS SAY IN VIRGINIA CASE.

An 18-year-old drunk driver who killed two girls and left a third paralyzed will pay for the accident the rest of his life under a highly unusual plea agreement reached Thursday.

Jeffrey Jones must pay the injured girl 15 percent of his lifetime earnings, no matter how much he makes or how long he lives.

Sentencing experts and defense attorneys said the arrangement appears to be a first.

``This is not getting off easy,'' said Herbert Hoelter, director of the National Center on Institutions and Alternatives, which works with judges and prosecutors to suggest creative punishments.

``This is a lifetime sentence on that man.''

Jones was driving home from his older sister's wedding reception last summer when he flipped his Chevrolet Camaro on a winding country road in Stafford County. The accident killed his 15-year-old sister, Julie, and his girlfriend, 18-year-old Erika Tamayo.

Another friend, Molly Gill, then 15, suffered a spinal injury that left her paralyzed below the shoulders.

No one knows how much money Jones will end up paying. Molly Gill's medical bills already top $300,000, and it is unclear how much insurance will cover.

Her father, Thomas Gill, said the family saw no benefit in sending Jones to prison. The family cooperated with prosecutors to fashion the lifetime restitution provision, Gill said.

Jones pleaded guilty last month to two counts of involuntary manslaughter.

A Circuit Court judge suspended a 10-year prison term. Jones also must perform 300 hours of community service and get substance abuse counseling. He cannot drive for at least two years.

He faced up to 20 years in prison if the case went to trial.

Molly Gill spent nearly five months at a rehabilitation hospital in Charlottesville after the accident. She has learned to power her electric wheelchair but is not expected to walk again.

``That would be a miracle. There is nothing medically to indicate that that could happen,'' her father said.

Molly hopes to return to her regular classroom soon. For now, she uses a special voice-activated computer to continue her schoolwork, her father said.

KEYWORDS: DRUNKEN DRIVING by CNB