BELFAST, Maine — The driver in a high-speed crash in 2013 in Thorndike that left one man dead will spend two years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of manslaughter and aggravated driving to endanger.
Alvaro Soares, 29, who now lives in Providence, Rhode Island, had been driving his sister and her boyfriend, Oscar Tizon Brito, on Route 220 on the evening of the July 4 holiday after attending a family member’s birthday barbecue in Unity. Soares was driving at about 100 miles per hour on the rural road that afternoon after consuming an unknown amount of alcohol, according to a police affidavit filed in 2013 in support of his arrest.
The car struck two side-by-side utility poles, breaking both of them and apparently killing the 25-year-old Brito on impact. Rescue personnel who arrived at the scene found a car wrecked beyond recognition and sparks from a transformer falling onto the survivors. They pulled 22-year-old Kelley Soares out of the wreckage and worked for two hours to cut Alvaro Soares out of it. The brother and sister both suffered life-threatening injuries in the crash.
No piece of glass remained unbroken, nor was any piece of sheet metal undamaged in the car, which was saturated with blood, Deputy James Greeley of the Waldo County Sheriff’s Office wrote in his 2013 affidavit.
After Alvaro Soares pleaded guilty to manslaughter, Waldo County Superior Court Justice Robert Murray sentenced him on Friday, Jan. 2, to 12 years in prison with all but two years suspended. Soares also will spend six years on probation and have his driver’s license suspended for two years. His probation conditions include that he submit to random searches for alcohol and drug use, attend substance abuse counseling and not operate any motor vehicle until he is properly licensed.
“By driving at about 100 miles per hour on a rural highway he created a very great risk not only to himself and his passengers, but to anyone else on the road that afternoon,” Waldo County District Attorney Geoffrey Rushlau wrote in a December sentencing memo. “The alcohol appears to have impaired his judgment that day and thus contributed to the dangerous driving and loss of control.”
According to Rushlau, the fact that Soares accepted responsibility for his actions by pleading guilty is a mitigating factor, as is his lack of a significant criminal or driving record. But victim impact is significant in this case, the district attorney said.
Brito’s mother and aunt both wrote letters to the court to show the impact of their loss. Jennifer Fondeur, his aunt, wrote that Brito was “like a second child to many in the tight-knit Peruvian community” in Rhode Island.
“I can assure you that had this proceeding taken place in Rhode Island, your courtroom would have been packed to capacity with all those who are struggling with this tragic loss,” she wrote. “Oscar had a smile that could light up a room. He was incredibly respectful. He had such high aspirations in life and would always share his thoughts and plans about the future.”
His mother, Elizabeth Brito, wrote that every parent’s nightmare became her reality when she answered the knock on her door on July 5.
“My baby, my reason for living, my best friend, my rock, my Oscar was gone. After that, everything continues to be a blur,” she wrote in a letter translated into English by Fondeur. “My soul feels broken, if that is possible. There is a constant pain that has taken over me. My nights are sleepless. When I do go to bed, it is never without praying to God that Oscar appear in my dreams.”
She wrote that she wonders if Alvaro Soares feels remorse and if he realizes that his decisions “scarred an entire community.”
Others wrote letters in support of Soares. One elementary school English as a Second Language teacher in Providence, Rhode Island, wrote that Soares volunteered in her classroom during the last school year.
“I have never had a volunteer in my classroom who was more dedicated than Alvaro,” Carrie Allen wrote. “He rode his bike to the school to volunteer through all weather conditions, including rain, snow and cold. He was extremely dedicated and responsible … all of the children looked forward to seeing him and working with him. He always went above and beyond what was expected of him.”
A man who attends Alcoholics Anonymous with Soares in Providence said that his incarceration would be a blow to the community.
“He accepts full responsibility for his actions,” James Shelton wrote. “He has made a commitment to a life of sobriety and doing the next right thing. Please find it in your heart to be as lenient as you can.”