Teen is sentenced for causing triple fatality in January
by Peter Jakey, Managing Editor
A 17-year-old Indian River man received a one-year county jail sentence Monday for his role in a multi-vehicle crash, which killed a mother and her two grown children in January.
Benjamin Espinoza pleaded guilty to three counts of negligent homicide last month in front of Circuit Judge Scott Pavlich and was back Monday for sentencing.
Espinoza said there were no words that could be expressed to take away the hurt of the family that lost Deb Stuifbergen, 51; Nick Stuifbergen, 23; and Leann Shoulders, 27, who died in the wreck. They were going to celebrate Deb?s birthday.
?I WOULD GIVE my life to give back that day,? said Espinoza, with a wavering voice. ?I made the stupidest mistake of my life. What can you say to them, about what I?ve done?” Espinoza was driving a full-size pickup loaded with classmates from Presque Isle Academy, on a snow-packed Hutchinson Highway in North Allis Township.
According to testimony in court, he was on the wrong side of the road when he came upon a hill in the road. On the other side of the hill was a vehicle being driven by Nick Stuifbergen. The vehicles collided nearly head-on.
?That day will always be burned to my memory?I can still see the people?s faces,? said Espinoza. Family members expressed sadness and anger during the hearing.
GARY STUIFBERGEN, the husband and father of the victims, approached Judge Pavlich on the stand and shuffled through pictures of the mangled vehicles and three family members in their caskets at the funeral.
He stood in the witness box next to Pavlich, and after talking in an almost inaudible voice that only the judge could hear, he glared at Espinoza at the defense table and said, ?an accident,? twice with a sarcastic tone. Stuifbergen also said Christmas and the holidays are going to be tough for his family.
Greg Shoulders, who lost his wife Leann, said, ?all we are looking for is justice, whether it be done in this life or the next. This is a devastation, to wipe out a family.?
Originally petitioned into probate court on three counts of manslaughter with a motor vehicle, he waived jurisdiction in juvenile court and agreed to plead guilty to three charges of negligent homicide if the prosecutor didn?t seek a sentence outside of the state sentencing guidelines.
PRESQUE ISLE County prosecutor Rick Steiger said the sentencing guidelines scored Espinoza at between 0-17 months.
During sentencing, Steiger said the family of the victims brought many questions to his attention that he can?t answer.
?They?ve sat in court many times. They see sentencings of somebody who forges a check and faces up to
Legally, the prosecutor said the presentencing report and recommendation of the probation agent was appropriate. ?This involves a tragedy that?s hard to imagine,? Pavlich told Espinoza. ?I believe you are sincere and remorseful.?
The judge said there are many of life?s lessons adults pass along to young people and one of them has to be the importance of driving a vehicle in a safe manner, ?and how serious a responsibility driving is. It?s not a game, it?s not a joke.? Pavlich said the only good that could come from this is for a young driver to learn from Espinoza?s mistake. ?Young folks just don?t understand how devastating this can be and how quickly this can happen.?