A slight young woman in shackles and a striped jail uniform spoke in a small voice Friday of the remorse she feels for getting high and running down a grandmother who was gardening in her yard.
"I'm so sorry for what I've done," said Jill Conaghan at her sentencing hearing in Johnson County District Court.
Members of Sandra Carocari's family sat in the front row, her daughters dabbing their eyes.
Carocari, 70, was gardening in her Overland Park front yard at 11:30 a.m. on July 18, 2009, when a van driven by Conaghan, then 19, veered off the road and struck her. The impact knocked the grandmother more than 35 feet and into her husband's truck in the driveway. She died at the scene.
Conaghan, also of Overland Park, was heading home after partying at her boyfriend's place the night before. She left the scene but returned later with her father and admitted the crime. Urine tests showed traces of oxycodone, Xanax and marijuana.
More than two years and a fair deal of legal wrangling later, Conaghan pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter while driving under the influence and to leaving the scene of an accident involving a death. Per an agreement between the prosecution and defense, Judge James Franklin Davis sentenced Conaghan to 41 months in prison for manslaughter. He added six months for leaving the scene, to be served concurrently. Conaghan has 271 days of jail credit.
Carocari's son, Douglas, spoke for the family before the sentencing and said his mother was "a truly good person."
Sandra Bernice Carocari served 25 years as assistant director of the Shawnee Mission Head Start program. Douglas Carocari described her as a force for good and spoke of her unconditional love.
"She's gone and I'll never see her smile," he said.
Defense attorney Kevin Regan described his client as a good girl who did a bad thing. He said she has been straight for more than two years and that once she serves her time she will not be back in a courtroom again.
"I know I've caused the Carocari family immeasurable pain," Conaghan said. "I am remorseful, I am regretful and I apologize."
In the wake of the accident, several residents in and near the 9800 block of West 99th Terrace, where the accident occurred, complained of a pattern of reckless driving there. Overland Park agreed to install a digital traffic device to alert drivers of their speed.
Judge Davis said the case had been a difficult one for everyone, including himself. He said the real tragedy was that some young people live a lifestyle of drugs and alcohol and he hoped this case would serve as a lesson.
The Kansas City Star
www.kansascity.com
Friday, November 18, 2011 12:12 p.m.