For almost an hour, Michael Ware had to listen to not only the parents of the victims scold his skills as a father, but the judge chastising as well, sending a strong message to those trying to be “the cool dad” at the expense of a child’s safety.
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“Neither I nor my daughter Julia meant any harm to anyone that night”, he said. His daughter took the vehicle, with five friends inside, to buy breakfast before speeding down a hill and flipping the SUV several times.
The SUV flipped over in Paupack Township, killing 15-year-old Ryan Lesher, Shamus Digney and Cullen Keffer, all of suburban Philadelphia. Another passenger was seriously injured.
“He basically gave his daughter a gun and put the bullets in it for her”, said Wilson Black, Shamus’ uncle.
Mr. Ware initially denied giving permission to his daughter to drive that day, a fact that angered Judge Hamill. Hamill also said Ware had failed to convince him that he was a candidate for rehabilitation.
Michael Ware told reporters after his July guilty plea that he was “sorry, very sorry”.
Julia Ware, now 16, of Pleasantville, New York, who was charged as a juvenile, also admitted guilt in the fatal accident.
During the sentencing, relatives of the dead boys, who had waited nearly a year for a resolution, held hands and closed their eyes.
Lisa Lesher, Ryan’s mother, recounted how her son volunteered to work with special needs kids.
A New York father was sentenced to prison for allowing his underage daughter to drive ahead of a deadly crash.
“What’s so troubling is not just that a young person ignored the law, but that her parent did as well”, Wayne County District Attorney Janine Edwards said in a statement.
Ware’s lawyer, Robert Reno, had asked for a sentence of 12 to 23 months.
Ware pleaded guilty last month to three counts of involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment in the crash. Instead, she was sentenced to community service, indefinite probation and ordered to pay restitution. He said she hadn’t spoken to her father since the crash.
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“I don’t really know what closure is”, said Joe Keffer, the father of Cullen Keffer. Ware’s attorney said he plans to appeal the judge’s ruling. “However, Mr. Ware will not have to endure the lifetime of misery our three families will”.
