ROCKLAND, Maine — An 18-year-old Owls Head man will serve 15 days in jail for a car crash that claimed the life of his 17-year-old passenger. The victim’s family expressed disappointment at the short sentence.
Evan Altiero was sentenced Monday in Rockland District Court on a reduced charge of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, which in this case was a 1998 BMW Z3. Altiero originally had been charged with manslaughter.
Assistant District Attorney Lindsay Jones said that a state police reconstructionist had determined that the minimum speed that Altiero was driving — when his vehicle went off Route 73 in South Thomaston shortly before midnight June 20, 2011 — was 50 mph in a 40-mph zone.
The vehicle went off the road and rolled several times, police said at the time of the crash.
Killed in the crash was Aleisha Sonksen, 17, of Owls Head.
Sonksen’s father, stepmother and other relatives were in the courtroom Monday and expressed opposition in comments made after the hearing to the agreement reached between the defense and the district attorney’s office.
“I’m disappointed in the system,” said Sonksen’s father, Marlowe Sonksen.
He said he voiced his disapproval to the prosecution but that it made no difference.
“The penalty for killing someone is two weeks in jail,” he added.
Stepmother Nancy Sonksen said she also was frustrated that Altiero’s family was allowed to drive him to jail.
Judge Susan Sparaco said that Altiero had until 6 p.m. Monday to report to the Mountain View Youth Correctional Center in Charleston.
Altiero will be placed on probation for two years. If he violates probation he could be required to serve part or all of the underlying sentence of commitment to Mountain View until he is 21. Altiero was a juvenile when the crash occurred and was processed through the court system as a juvenile.
Marlowe Sonksen said that Altiero had admitted to going 85 mph. District Attorney Geoffrey Rushlau said that the teen made comments to other people that he had been driving 80 mph at one point but it was not certain that was the speed when the crash occurred.
Alcohol was not involved in the crash, the district attorney noted. Altiero had no prior speeding offenses, he said.
Nancy Sonksen said the death of Aleisha will be felt forever. Aleisha had completed her junior year at Camden Hills Regional High School a few weeks before her death.
“She will not have a wedding. She will not have children. We will not have grandchildren,” Nancy Sonksen said.
Altiero was represented by attorney Philip Cohen of Waldoboro.
Months earlier, Cohen had asked the state to provide a list of every summons for moving violations that had been issued within one mile of the crash site and for all summonses for speeding in Knox County with the same speed limit as the crash site. The defense said it wanted the information to show that Altiero’s actions were not a gross deviation from what a reasonable person would do, which is an element in proving manslaughter.
Altiero had been charged in January but has been free since the juvenile petition was filed.
seriously? All I can say is “Wow”.
Why are the victims not considered during these “agreements”?
Judge Susan Sparaco needs to try again. Did she skip school during “victim impact” class?
Good example of why judges should be elected, not appointed.
That is a fairly good point, but even better example of keeping wuss DA’s out of office. Judges do listen to the requests of DA’s in deals, but when the DA is a wuss???? They give wuss deals so it looks like a “win”.
what a joke…….no lesson learned there
Oh there is a lesson learned……do a crime in waldo/Knox or Sag county and you stand a very good chance of walking because of a terrible DA…….
…or Lincoln…
So based on your comment, I am very interested in the sentence that you would have imposed. Please tell us…..thank you.
I can’t even respond to that, I can’t seem to get past your ignorance….
I don’t see how THEAT’s comment shows any sign of ignorance at all.. please, enlighten us.
Unfortunately from a legal standpoint it doesnt matter what the father says Altiero admitted to as far as speed. If the state’s expert can only “prove” he was going 50 mph then it would have been impossible to prosecute a manslaughter case. It’s disappointing, but if they tried to go to trial without evidence he wouldn’t have gotten anything at all.
Although he had been bragging to friends that he had been going 80 mph at some point during that night. I realize that it doesn’t mean he was doing that then but it shows his disregard for life when he is going that fast.
I am curious why everyone seems to draw conclusions that he was bragging….One can say a lot of comments when you are in shock, and in disbelief…and I don’t know what happened…but I don’t see anywhere in this story that says he was bragging.
Why did the DA even agree to such a deal? Is the DA so back logged with cases they are forced into accepting this sort of deal?
Did the judge also agree that 15 days was acceptable?
I feel horrible for her family.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/sex_vic_faces_nd_outrage_7tapW9FKkJYRAyDli8pJNJ#.UA1piOQhlbE.facebook
You think this is messed up, read this!
This is neither relevant to the story nor is it constructive.
So sad, A young lady who just started to live life was killed bu someone who was bragging how fast he was going before the crash. Doesn’t sound like he has much of a conscience.
Seems kind of odd that he just happened to drop down to 50 mph when he crashed — bragging about doing 80 to his buds but when its law enforcement “no officer I was only doing 50 when I killed that girl”. So sad that probably the family is “in” with someone in the DA’s office.
I don’t know enough about this story to be completely honest, so maybe all of these responses are right on. I just don’t know.
If the boy was going 10 mph over the speed limit and had an accident that took this girls life, then I believe the punishment is adequate. Could it have been more? Absolutely, but was there intent? Is there anything we know about this boy that would cause us to believe that he was reckless and dangerous, and if so why was this girl with him? Would this boy going to jail for x number of years have really done that much to ease the pain that the family is feeling? It’s not going to bring her back. She still unfortunately will not have a wedding. This is a tragedy without end for this poor family. It’s a loss that cannot be measured.
I don’t know about these comments though…is it some intrinsic need for “justice”? Whatever that is these days. Remember, he was being charged as a minor. Alcohol was not a factor. Sure, you could argue that speed was a factor, although I would wager that most everyone who has posted on this board has been guilty of going 10 m.p.h. over the speed limit on many occasions. Most likely, this was caused by driver inexperience in some form or another. I wasn’t in the car of course, but neither were any of you.
“The penalty for killing someone is two weeks in jail,” I don’t know if you can ever truly understand the loss of a child unless you have lost a child, so I can’t judge anyone for their reaction to loss, but I can only pray that her father and mother understand that this penalty was not for the loss of their daughter, whose worth goes far beyond any jail sentence or monetary amount. It was punishment for what could be proven by law. That an inexperienced driver was speeding, although not excessively, and lost control of his car taking the life of another.
This is a very sad situation and my prayers go out to the family of what seems like was a pretty amazing young lady. It’s clear that she was loved, and will continue to be loved for a very long time. Whether there is comfort in it or not, my family is praying for this family that they find support and love in this terrible time.
No, the comments aren’t “right on”, but they’re about what you’d expect on something like this. The whole thing is very sad.
No, the MINIMUM he was going 50mph. He could very well have been going much faster.
And that MAY be the case, but we really don’t know and certainly could not pass judgment as a court system based on that, right?
Where in that post am I passing judgement?? I am just pointing out a detail that most of the people on here have missed.
i served 16 days for habitiual d w i where is the justis
There is none you should have served more time than that as well.
true why not?
true
would have done it volantry
Did you finally learn to walk, call a cab, catch a ride? Maybe quit drinking?
Do you mean DUI? If so, are you kidding? Only 16 days. You should have been locked up for a year. This kid was going 10 miles over the limit w/no indication of booze or drugs in his system. Apples and oranges.
I think it’s right under the dictionary.. perhaps you should check there
you play you pay!!!!
That is a very good, old saying….but in this case,….where’s the “you pay”?
Seriously, if it was you, do you think that the lesson learned would be from the sentence in a courtroom and in a jail or from the ever-present ache of living with the lapse of judgement that resulted in the death of a friend. I would advocate for more community service, but leaving someone (especially someone young) in jail just means another citizen who can’t really participate or contribute to our society when they get out. Which is a loss for all of us.
Many of us have made this same mistake. It just didn’t result in an accident and death.
Yep, 15 days. I guess my only surprise is that he got that much given that Jeff Rushlau is the wimp DA of that region. Jeff has always been more interested in his win/loss record. With a deal like this it shows as a win. He is pathetic, cares more about “how will we look to the public if we lose”, than taking a tough one to trial and fighting for the rights of victims. Big mistake having him in there…biggest wuss of a DA there is…..
DAs in Maine make $65,000 a fraction of what defense, even family law, lawyers make. “The people” can’t possibly compete w/ the likes of Philip Cohen at this rate.
Rushlau makes well into 6 figures………don’t kid urself……does not earn it,…but makes it….
I dont care how much or how little money a DA makes. They chose this job and money does not buy “INTEGRITY” which i have found that none of the DA’s in Maine have.
This state is obviously full of District Attorneys that are the same. Every country seems to have one which is why we have so many repeat offenders. I dont know how many times i have seen Almy make some sort of plea deal on every case just to pad his winning percentage…its rediculous and just makes those that do criminal activity feel like they will only recieve a slap on the wrist.
AND…..the headline should not read “Teen” to serve…that only stands to minimize. He is an 18 year old man……
he is a teen, by definition.. How the headline should read is a matter of opinion, really.
sounds like someone was paid off.
The rich have different rules. Why didn’t you know that
It appears the defense proved that a key element was not so readily apparent given the high number of people that exceed the speed limit by 10-15 mph all day every day. If Alterio is to be found guilty of this are those who are caught speeding to the same excess guilty of reckless driving? This wasn’t an OUI related accident, though the reason changes nothing, given a young woman tragically lost her life. Our court system whether we see it or not, like or not takes into account numerous factors and deals out the consequences, in this case a tragic accident does not call for the “mandatory minimums so many seem to salivate for. This was an accident without intent, no less tragic, but far less heinous than those with motive or intent.
Driving around going 80 mph is reckless no matter whose book your reading. I understand that he bragged about doing this speed to his buddies but then recanted when face with the police asking. No one really knows how fast he was going — at a min. 50 mph — why didn’t the big boy admit how fast he was going to the police.
15 days?
are you serious!
He took the life of a young girl with so much to live for!
he was showing off, speeding in a car he shouldn’t have owned, and killed her through his idiocy.
the parents of the boy should be arrested for buying him a car like that, and he should be thrown in prison for at least 5 years.
so much for justice.
In a car he shouldn’t have owned? What does that even mean?
Have you ever went 10 m.p.h. over the speed limit? Were you showing off? Would you have felt better had he gotten in an accident in a minivan? I really feel like there is more swaying your opinion on this than just the facts.
I hope you’re trolling, because if you’re not, then please never have offspring.
“A car he shouldn’t have owned”…
As in a 1998 BMW z3 roadster.
the “governor” shuts the car down at 150 mph.
do you think that being a male teenager in a sports car like that he’s not going to speed? do something stupid? get someone killed?
it’s like playing russian roulette, eventually the gun will go off, it’s inevitable.
the parents of the boy need to be arrested for giving him the car.
and btw, a minivan offers a lot more protection for its passengers and can’t go nearly as fast as a bmw z3.
It also makes showing off kinda foolish, doesn’t it.
I guess I just don’t see myself as the judge as to what vehicle another parent buys for their children. I see it as an accident. A tragic accident, but an accident. Again, have you ever gone 10 m.p.h. over the speed limit? If not, then you are by FAR the exception. Was he going 50 m.p.h. or 80 m.p.h.? We don’t know and obviously it would make a huge difference, but all I know is what was published, which is that he was going 10 over.
I also don’t see it as inevitable. The whole Russian roulette thing was pretty melodramatic if you ask me. I think that if you put some male teenagers in any car they are going to speed. If you put some male teenagers in any car they are not going to speed. If you can’t concede this, then there really isn’t much to discuss.
“Please never have offspring.” I love when I read things like this from people. I find it amusing and pointless at the same time. Apparently you’ll be scared to know that I have children and they are extremely respectful and loving little children who are growing up in a Christian home where they are being taught not to judge others.
My prayers are with both of the family who suffered this tragic loss. I pray that they will find peace in the face of this tragedy and that they will forever cherish the 17 years that they had with this young lady.
cars dont roll several times when doing 50…I call BS. The speed was obviously faster than 50. that car is a rocket. It does 50 in second gear. Another case of money buying “justice”
Honestly, it very well may have been going more than 50. I don’t know anything about this beyond what was written. But I also don’t know about the road he was on or where it happened. Did he miss a turn? Hit a soft shoulder? I’m pretty sure that it is possible to roll several times going 50 depending on the circumstances.
He sounds connected to me maybe there is a good ol’ boy network at work here. I thought that was mostly a southern “thang”. Anyone know his kin?
Poor little rich boy. How will he survive 15 days…
50 in a 40 isnt that bad, seems like 50 MPH one could survive a crash though…
the bmw is pretty much a motor and fiberglass.
it’s all about the power/weight ratio.
the less weight, the faster it will go in less time.
this is why people on rice rocket motorcycles can go from 30 to 100 in just a few seconds.
it just doesn’t offer a lot for protection for the passengers.
they’re made for speed, not comfort.
Parents who give a teenage boy a sports car should be locked up.
I got in enough trouble with a 84 Corolla.
As you noted, you got in “enough” trouble with an 84 Corolla…don’t blame the car.
You’re missing the point. Horsing around with a car that can barely get out of it’s own way is a lot different than a RWD sports car.
You don’t give sports cars to people who don’t respect and understand what that car is able to do.
i think movingrightalong is trolling.
Not trolling at all, I just don’t agree with the premise. A rear wheel drive car certainly drives differently than a front wheel drive car, but it both are dangerous. Both are a huge responsibility and don’t forget that people die all the time driving a car “that can barely get out of it’s own way”.
The point is, “horsing around with” any car is irresponsible. If he was going 10 m.p.h. over the speed limit at the time of the accident, I hardly consider that horsing around. The point is, I wasn’t in the car and I am not ready to judge his intentions as I was not there.
Why should they be locked up? Is giving a gift a crime?
FOR GOD SAKES ….I travel daily 10 miles over the speed limit and if I killed my passenger doing so then it is simply an accident..TRAGIC yes and so so so awful for the family…but come on this young person should not serve a DAY in jail!……so sad for BOTH of them sadly one of is no longer here…but really…what a joke to punish an “accident”
are you kidding?
he was showing off, driving too fast, and got a girl with her whole life ahead of her killed.
he deserves a lot more than 15 days in jail!
Were you in the car?
Oh I am sorry I guess you was in the car and know the facts of the case that the prosecution did not? Because driving 10 miles over the speed limit is NOT showing off, now if you want to go by RUMOR and not evidence then I would also say he was doing 80 but the evidence that was produced said he was driving 10 miles over. I will stick to the evidence presented. Not the trial by way of Bangor Daily News Comment Board.
My opinion is tho that he should not serve a single day in jail for an accident, that evidence showed he was only doing 10 miles over the speed limit.
The evidence says a MINIMUM of 50 miles an hour — that would mean a MINIMUM of 10 miles over the speed limit. That could mean 51 mph or 80 mph — he had already said he’d been going 80 I guess he must have slowed down before the crash.
I am completely confused as to how everyone thinks because he had a 13 year old BMW, that his family must be rich.
Also, yes, people can die when traveling 50 mph. People have died when traveling 25 mph! I feel awful for both family’s involved and I hope this is a deterrent to other teenage drivers. I am sure he never for a second thought his actions would result in his friend’s death.
Does anyone here actually read the stories they comment on?!
“…state police reconstructionist had determined that the minimum speed
that Altiero was driving — when his vehicle went off Route 73 in South
Thomaston shortly before midnight June 20, 2011 — was 50 mph in a 40-mph
zone.”
Minimum people, MINIMUM!
And how many of us blow the speed limit off on our way to an exciting event, like work (in my case)? People are rushing to judgement and if it were my loved one killed I’d probably do the same but when calmer heads prevail….. The driver was not drunk or high. So what if he was driving a BMW. It doesn’t mean he was rich. Writers are making it sound like he is a reckless, trust fund baby. I know nothing about him .. still sounds like a friggin accident. Let it go.
What does that have to do with people not reading details of a story. I’m not judging anyone.
i believe the car was borrowed from a family member or family friend, and he just wanted to “take it for a spin”…
A reasonable speed is 85 in a 40? And 15 days in jail for killing someone. Nice Maine, real nice.
“the way life should be” Get real.
So many people have said he was footing off and going 80 this is rumor and goes against the evidence presented in court….its almost like prisoners who say another inmate confessed ….people are talking and I happen to look for evidence and bangor daily printed the evidence the boy was going about 10 miles over the limit. Yippie!