FARMINGTON – A Wilton teenager pleaded guilty Thursday to manslaughter, a Class A crime, and was sentenced to five years in jail with all but one year suspended.
He also was ordered to serve six years’ probation and was prohibited from driving a motor vehicle during that time.
Timothy Witham, 19, was driving with a learner’s permit when he lost control on Temple Road on March 16, 2004.
His girlfriend, Mary McDonald, 21, of Farmington, died of severe trauma from injuries sustained in the accident. Witham also received a serious brain injury.
Two other passengers were treated at a hospital and released.
Assistant District Attorney James Andrews referred to the case as “criminal negligence.”
He said Witham knew about the frost heaves and poor conditions of the road during that time of year as he had traveled the road several times.
There was also a section of the road that witnesses referred to as the launch, Andrews said, where vehicles can go airborne if hit just right.
Witnesses also stated that Witham had been squealing his tires at stop signs, and a state police accident reconstructionist’s testimony indicated that the car was traveling 80-95 mph in a 35 mph zone before the accident. Andrews added that witnesses in the car said Witham was going slower than that.
Witham, who has bipolar disorder and has been treated for it since he was a child, Andrews said, drove the vehicle down over a hill and started to go off the shoulder of the road and overcorrected. The car hit a snowbank and launched into the air and twisted sideways and broke off a spruce tree 20 feet up.
He was not a licensed driver, Andrews said. In none of the interviews did he hear anybody say that they had asked Witham to slow down, Andrews said.
“It appears they were kind of enjoying thrill-seeking,” Andrews said.
The state prosecutor said that neither alcohol nor illegal drugs was a factor in the accident.
He recommended a sentence of eight years, with all but one year suspended, and six years’ probation. He said it was clear that a long period in jail would be detrimental to Witham because of his brain injury and his mental condition.
Andrews said he spoke to the victim’s parents about the proposed sentence, and he said they told him “that there is nothing the court could do here that would bring their daughter back.”
But if it were up to them, they would like to see more time in jail, Andrews said.
Witham showed no emotion as he sat and stood quietly during the sentencing next to his attorney, David Sanders. Members of his family, who sat behind him, shed tears at times.
Sanders argued for four years as the maximum sentence, with all but nine months suspended, because that would allow Witham to serve his time in Franklin County jail and stay close to family and the support and educational resources he has developed since the accident.
Sanders said that of the many ways that manslaughter could be committed, criminal negligence was the lowest level.
“The accident was caused by speed and speed alone,” Sanders said. He also claimed the speed was lower than the reconstructionist indicated.
He said no alcohol or drugs were involved.
Sanders said Witham has gone to brain-injury school and has also earned his General Educational Development certificate.
After the sentencing, family members mouthed “I love you” to Witham.
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