FARMINGTON — Friends and family of Ricky Gaboury and Tena Trask hugged, kissed and wiped tears as they waited Monday to hear an Industry man plead guilty to drunken driving in a crash that killed their daughter, Taylor Gaboury.

Some in attendance wore purple, Taylor’s favorite color, and carried purple flowers. Some held photos of her.

Gaboury, 21, was walking along Wilton Road in the early-morning hours of Jan. 1 when she was struck and killed near Franklin Memorial Hospital. Her body landed over an embankment.

Tommy R. Clark, 26, waived indictment Monday and pleaded guilty to felony charges of aggravated operating under the influence-death and leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident causing death or serious bodily injury.

Clark, wearing a black suit, a dark shirt and tie, stood beside his attorney, Thomas Carey, as he entered his pleas. He could have had his case go to trial but gave up that right when he agreed to plead guilty.

If the case had gone to trial, testimony would have shown that Clark had a blood-alcohol level of 0.129 percent when tested, James Andrews, deputy district attorney, told Justice William Stokes in Franklin County Superior Court.

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Farmington police Sgt. Edward Hastings IV would have testified that when he arrived at the scene of the accident, he saw crash debris and one of the victim’s boots in the road.

A passenger in Clark’s vehicle would have testified that Clark, another passenger and herself had been drinking. As Clark was driving he looked away and struck an object in the road. The passenger heard the impact and saw something fly away from the car.

The passenger would also testify that Clark went down the embankment to check on the victim and when he found her dead, he drove to a nearby motel. Police found a damaged car in the parking lot and Clark sitting in another vehicle.

A doctor would testify that Taylor died from a head injury consistent with being struck from behind by a vehicle, Andrews said.

A plea agreement caps the unsuspended portion of any prison sentence at five years, Andrews said.

The OUI charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a $20,000 fine and three years of probation, Justice Stokes said. It also carries a 10-year loss of a driver’s license and the right to register a vehicle.

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“The victim’s family is not satisfied with the plea negotiations the state has made,” Andrews said. “They wish to be heard at sentencing.”

They hope the agreement is not accepted, he said.

“I reserve the right to accept or reject the plea agreement at sentencing,” Stokes said.

He told the family they will have an opportunity to address him at the hearing, but in his role as judge he could not change the charges that had been brought.

Sentencing was set for 1 p.m. July 25 at Superior Court.

Clark will remain free on bail of $50,000 worth of real estate until sentencing. He is prohibited from possessing or drinking alcohol and from contacting the victim’s family or witnesses in the case.

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Ricky Gaboury and Trask hugged and kissed outside the courthouse several times. Each carried a photo of their daughter. Gaboury’s photo included the statement, “Our lives matter.”

“It is in the judge’s hands,” Gaboury said.

Hopefully, he will feel the family’s pain, he said. And give him the maximum penalty, Trask said softly.

They said they hope the judge realizes the impact of Taylor’s death on her family and the community. It was not just one life, it is all of them, Gaboury said.

He added that some say drunken-driving laws in Maine are harsh. They seem to be until there is a death, he said.

dperry@sunmediagroup.net.


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