Joshua Mason caused the August 2002 crash that killed his friend, Travis Van Durme.
AUBURN – Douglas and Bonnie Van Durme do not believe the car crash that killed their son was an accident. They believe it could have been avoided.
On Friday, nearly a year after their son’s death, the Norway couple got the affirmation they wanted.
Joshua Mason, the West Paris teen who caused the crash, appeared in Androscoggin County Superior Court and pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
As Justice Thomas E. Delahanty II outlined the details of the case, Mason broke down and cried, requiring the court to take a five-minute recess.
“He finally understood what he had done,” Douglas Van Durme said. “All along that is all that Bonnie and I wanted.”
The crash occurred on Aug. 5, 2002.
Travis Van Durme was in the passenger seat of Mason’s pickup truck. Another passenger, Brett Jackson, 18, of Oxford, was in the back.
The three friends were on their way to a pool hall in Auburn when Mason lost control of the truck and crashed into a ditch on Lane Road in Mechanic Falls.
Mason and Jackson were seriously injured. Van Durme died.
An honor student and star football player at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, Van Durme was 10 days short of his 19th birthday. He was getting ready to start college in Florida.
Mason was charged with manslaughter after police concluded that he was driving 77 mph in the 35-mph zone.
Police also discovered that he had previously accrued a string of citations for driving to endanger – one in 2000, one in 2001 and two in 2002.
Mason’s trial was supposed to begin Monday morning. He agreed Thursday to waive his right to a trial and to plead guilty after the District Attorney’s Office and his lawyer, William Cote, agreed to recommend a sentence of 10 years in prison with all but one year suspended, followed by six years of probation.
In addition, Mason’s license would be suspended for 10 years.
“Having the manslaughter conviction was important because it reflects what happened: criminal negligence or recklessness causing a death,” said Deputy District Attorney Craig Turner.
Although the lawyers have reached an agreement, the final say will be up to the judge. Mason will return to court in about two months for his sentencing hearing. Until then, he has been released without bail.
“There is no happy ending for anybody here,” Bonnie Van Durme said Friday. “But we all need closure.”
While he was in high school, Van Durme held football rushing records and he had been named an all-state tailback. His jersey, No. 1, was retired.
He has been described by friends and family as being a compassionate friend who inspired people to be better.
Douglas Van Durme said his son reached out to Mason when Mason transferred to Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School from a local private school.
After learning about Mason’s driving record, the Van Durmes wrote to every state and federal legislator in their district. Shocked that the teen still had his driver’s license, they encouraged local lawmakers to introduce a bill that would require the state to suspend the licenses of drivers cited for driving to endanger twice within a year’s time.
The Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee rejected the bill, reasoning that such a law would have been unconstitutional because accused drivers are entitled to due process.
Instead, the committee crafted a resolve that directs the Secretary of State to develop a document that police could use to inform state officials of reckless drivers after they are cited.
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