SALEM — It's a scene that plays out "over and over and over again," both a prosecutor and a judge lamented yesterday, the tragic result of mixing alcohol, youth and a vehicle.
And no sentence, Salem Superior Court Judge David Lowy said, can truly reflect the loss of a life full of promise, like that of Julia Gauthier, the 19-year-old honor student from Salem who was killed last March when her boyfriend, Christopher Maxson, ran several stop signs and crashed after a night of drinking at a party in Lynn.
Maxson, now 20, of Marblehead and Salem, was sentenced to three to four years in state prison after pleading guilty to a charge of motor vehicle homicide while driving drunk and recklessly.
The two were heading home just after 1 a.m. on March 21 after attending a party at the home of a friend when the accident occurred. The Toyota SUV that Maxson was driving flipped over and rolled at least twice, prosecutor Michael Patten told the court. Gauthier was ejected through the sunroof and landed on a curb, killing her. Two other passengers, Thomas Lambert and David Duong, both 20, were injured, as was Maxson.
The sentence is less than the five- to seven-year prison term sought by prosecutors, but more than the 21/2-year county house of correction sentence requested by Maxson and his lawyers.
Lowy said that while he believes Maxson, diagnosed with bipolar disorder, needs rehabilitation and treatment, a shorter term, in a jail rather than prison, "wouldn't be justice."
But while many of Gauthier's family had hoped for a longer prison term, her mother appeared to be ready to forgive Maxson.
"In my heart, I wanted him to go to the correctional facility," Marie Gauthier said outside court. "He didn't mean to hurt Julia. He didn't mean to kill her. I hope Chris rehabilitates himself. I hope he becomes a responsible person who gives back to society.
"No one wanted this. Chris didn't sign up for this. It wasn't intentional," said her mother, who described how her daughter "always looked out for the underdog."
"She made people feel good about themselves," her mother said.
More than 2,000 people attended her wake and funeral during a pouring rainstorm.
But other family members were not as ready to forgive Maxson, a young man they felt treated Gauthier badly during their relationship.
Marc Gauthier Sr., Julia's father, told relatives to be wary of Maxson, telling them, "He's bad news."
Annie Gauthier, Julia Gauthier's aunt, called Julia a "loving and devoted" young woman who would stay up and keep her dying grandfather, Roland Gauthier, company until he fell asleep, then take phone calls from Maxson at 1, 2 or 3 a.m.
Sometimes Maxson would pull up in front of their home, then, her aunt recalled, she would hear "screeching tires out front, pealing out onto Route 114."
"This was his M.O.," Annie Gauthier said. "Willful, reckless and selfish."
"Drunk driving is not an accident, it's a choice," said Sherie Weber, Gauthier's older sister, who wrestles with "hurt, hate and anger" toward Maxson.
"I'm not ready to forgive him," Weber said.
Weber, a nurse, was just finishing her shift at Salem Hospital the night of the crash when she suddenly, inexplicably had a sick feeling.
She believes that was Gauthier "being ripped from this world." Moments later, as Weber was leaving, the call came in. She saw the team of doctors and nurses assemble, ready to try to save the victims of an accident in Lynn, not yet knowing her own sister would be one of them.
"Unfortunately, Essex Assistant District Attorney Michael Patten is correct that these tragic cases occur over and over and over again," said Lowy, who added "willful arrogance" to the deadly mix of ingredients in this case.
That "arrogance," Maxson's lawyers argued, was actually untreated bipolar disorder that raged out of control after Maxson, in his senior year of high school, got another girlfriend pregnant.
Maxson, his lawyer John Andrews said, went from being a Salem High star basketball player and a good student who won a full scholarship to a prestigious Connecticut preparatory school to someone who, in 2008, was busted for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.
Vincent Maxson, the father of the defendant, said that his son was an A and B student who played on a Babe Ruth League all-star team and later on an amateur athletic union basketball team.
He was being looked at by prep schools and colleges, his father recalled, and decided to attend Kent School for a year.
"The sky's the limit for you, kid," Vincent Maxson recalled telling his son.
Then, in what his father called "a pretty much life-altering event," Maxson got his girlfriend pregnant.
"That just seemed to trigger something," Maxson's father said. His son stopped going to school and gave up the scholarship. He stopped coming home at night.
As his father spoke, Christopher Maxson cried.
In their first conversation after the crash, Vincent Maxson said, his son told him, "I just want to tell her I'm sorry."
Maxson later spent two months at McLean Hospital, his father said, and emerged the son he used to know.
"When he came back, it was great," Vincent said. "It was great to see him every day."
The defense also called Lynn District Court probation officer Mark Medina to testify on Maxson's behalf. Medina urged the judge to impose the jail term instead of prison, saying Maxson needs "a positive rehabilitative experience."
Andrews, the defense lawyer, said outside court that he was "disappointed" by the sentence. "He's a young man, he made a mistake, and he's taken actions to correct it. He's probably the single most remorseful young man I've ever met."
Lowy said that while he's certain that Maxson's father meant no insensitivity toward the Gauthier family, the judge was struck by his comments about how "great it was to be able to talk to him and watch him play with his grandson" during a period when he was out on bail.
"I expect Julia's mom was thinking how she would give everything up to have that same opportunity," the judge said.
Sister Says She Reported Brother in Patz Killing
Patz Suspect's Sister: I Went to Police in 1980s
Diplomatic Expulsions Follow Fresh Syria Report
15 Dead in Northern Italy's 5.8-magnitude Quake
Angry Birds Spreading Their Wings
Witness Describes Fla. Face-chewing Attack
Man Falls Off Crane, Dies After Police Standoff
Russia Condemns Ally Syria Over Massacre of 108
Dairy Farm Uses Chiropractor to Help Cows
Unexpected Smog in Pristine National Parks
Air Canada Plane Makes Emergency Landing
New Ticks Spread Across Southeast, Diseases Rise
Bring Your Own Tech Programs Charge Up Students
Pope's Butler Vows to Help Vatican Investigation
Mother of Allegedly Abused Girl Denies Claims
Raw Video: 19 Dead in Qatar Shopping Mall Fire
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Raw Video: Heckler Bursts in on Blair Testimony
Japan Farmers Plant, Seek Radiation-free Rice
