{"id":14046,"date":"2014-11-26T00:41:50","date_gmt":"2014-11-26T00:41:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/independentweekender.com\/?p=14046"},"modified":"2014-12-03T21:11:24","modified_gmt":"2014-12-03T21:11:24","slug":"state-sentence-for-driver-in-crash-that-claimed-infant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2014\/11\/26\/state-sentence-for-driver-in-crash-that-claimed-infant\/","title":{"rendered":"State sentence for driver in crash that claimed infant"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"ZACH<\/a>

ZACH LARUE<\/p><\/div>\n

The mother of a six-month-old infant killed last year in a car accident couldn\u2019t hold back her tears as she took the stand at the sentencing hearing Thursday of the man responsible for the crash.<\/p>\n

Lindsey Johnson, who held a picture of her daughter, Lainey, said, \u201cShe did not deserve this. Instead of waking up and hugging her, we visit her grave.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zach Philip Larue, 22, of Kingsley, was sentenced by Susquehanna County President Judge Kenneth Seamans to serve two to five years in a state correction facility, followed by two years probation for homicide by motor vehicle, as well as a consecutive seven years of probation for aggravated assault by motor vehicle.<\/p>\n

It was recommended, by both the prosecution and defense, that Mr. Larue be allowed to apply to the state\u2019s prison boot camp program.<\/p>\n

Mr. Larue did not address the court prior to his sentencing.<\/p>\n

Judge Seamans said, \u201cI have sat here for 27 years\u2026 this is the most tragic case involving a child I have been involved with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lainey Johnson died three days after the Sept. 2, 2013 crash that occurred on SR 92, Lenox Twp. Mrs. Johnson also sustained injuries in the crash.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou took away my ability to be with her when she needed me most. My heart died with her,\u201d Mrs. Johnson said. \u201cI will never be complete again.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the time of the crash, Mr. Larue was traveling 73 mph in a 55 mph zone when he lost control of his vehicle, according to information offered in court Thursday.<\/p>\n

Mr. Larue\u2019s vehicle crossed over the double yellow center lines and struck two northbound vehicles \u2013 one of which was the Johnson\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll you cared about was your truck,\u201d Mrs. Johnson said in her remarks to Mr. Larue, adding that she did not believe he had shown any remorse for the crash. \u201cYou should be in the ground, not my Lainey.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jake Johnson told the court that he was with his wife at Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton when he received a call to return to Danville where his daughter was hospitalized.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew something had gone majorly wrong,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He spoke of walking into his daughter\u2019s room to find her dressed, with a hat on and a teddy bear by her side when the doctor told him Lainey had sustained severe brain damage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was only the start of what my family has gone through in the past 14 months,\u201d Mr. Johnson said.
\nHe also told the court of the visits to his daughter\u2019s grave; and the pain his wife endures from her injuries.<\/p>\n

Several of Lainey\u2019s family members also took the stand, including aunts and her maternal grandmother, Susan Young.<\/p>\n

During the statements, Mr. Larue remained in his seat with his eyes cast downward.<\/p>\n

District Attorney Jason Legg said, \u201cNo sentence can ever achieve justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

He acknowledged that sentencing was not only about punishment, but also about rehabilitation. \u201cWe have to accept this sentence as a start,\u201d Legg said.<\/p>\n

Although Mr. Larue had accepted an agreement that allowed for an aggravated sentence, the district attorney told the court that Mr. Larue had \u201cnot really come to grips\u201d with his responsibility.<\/p>\n

Mr. Legg noted that actions from Mr. Larue had divided the community \u2013 noting screenshots taken of social media pages had shown the defendant attending parties \u2013 including a \u201cgoing away party\u201d held in his behalf; as well as an Oct. 31 party.<\/p>\n

Mr. Larue had entered his guilty pleas on Friday, Oct. 31. \u201cHe went from court to that party,\u201d Mr. Legg said.<\/p>\n

The district attorney argued for a long period of supervision after Mr. Larue\u2019s release from prison based on his driving history. \u201cWe want to make sure he gets on the right path, and stays on the right path,\u201d Mr. Legg said. \u201cHe\u2019s made a start, but quite frankly, he has a long way to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Judge Seamans noted the bravery of the Johnson family in their statements to the court.<\/p>\n

To Mr. Larue, the judge spoke of similar cases he has presided over during his time on the bench. Judge Seamans said two individuals with comparable situations had turned their lives around. \u201cThis takes a lot of work by you,\u201d the judge said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is really a tragic occurrence,\u201d Judge Seamans said, \u201cbut it really wasn\u2019t a chance happening.\u201d
\nHe said it was Larue\u2019s recklessness that caused the fatal crash.<\/p>\n

Prior to the family\u2019s remarks, and the sentencing, Defense Attorney Paul Ackourey spoke on behalf of his client.<\/p>\n

Ackourey admitted his client had acted \u201cimpulsively and recklessly\u201d causing \u201creprehensible damage to the victim and victim\u2019s family.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the case set for jury selection in November, Ackourey said the plea agreement was reached in the eleventh hour, telling the court his client told him: \u201cI\u2019ve put these people through enough.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The mother of a six-month-old infant killed last year in a car accident couldn\u2019t hold back her tears as she took the stand at the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":14047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nState sentence for driver in crash that claimed infant - PS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2014\/11\/26\/state-sentence-for-driver-in-crash-that-claimed-infant\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"State sentence for driver in crash that claimed infant - PS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The mother of a six-month-old infant killed last year in a car accident couldn\u2019t hold back her tears as she took the stand at the...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2014\/11\/26\/state-sentence-for-driver-in-crash-that-claimed-infant\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-11-26T00:41:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-12-03T21:11:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/WGSI_ZachLarue.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"216\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"265\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"tpennysaver\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"tpennysaver\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2014\/11\/26\/state-sentence-for-driver-in-crash-that-claimed-infant\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2014\/11\/26\/state-sentence-for-driver-in-crash-that-claimed-infant\/\",\"name\":\"State sentence for driver in crash that claimed infant - PS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2014\/11\/26\/state-sentence-for-driver-in-crash-that-claimed-infant\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2014\/11\/26\/state-sentence-for-driver-in-crash-that-claimed-infant\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/psowegomedia.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/WGSI_ZachLarue.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-11-26T00:41:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-12-03T21:11:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/75c26bc8e32869a516360463d23964c5\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2014\/11\/26\/state-sentence-for-driver-in-crash-that-claimed-infant\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2014\/11\/26\/state-sentence-for-driver-in-crash-that-claimed-infant\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2014\/11\/26\/state-sentence-for-driver-in-crash-that-claimed-infant\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/psowegomedia.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/WGSI_ZachLarue.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/psowegomedia.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/WGSI_ZachLarue.jpg\",\"width\":216,\"height\":265,\"caption\":\"ZACH LARUE\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2014\/11\/26\/state-sentence-for-driver-in-crash-that-claimed-infant\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"State sentence for driver in crash that claimed infant\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/\",\"name\":\"PS\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/75c26bc8e32869a516360463d23964c5\",\"name\":\"tpennysaver\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d6045c51d67078fca07dea2f9a98096ff872042fa26efc301b1a93de9e6020ef?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d6045c51d67078fca07dea2f9a98096ff872042fa26efc301b1a93de9e6020ef?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"tpennysaver\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/author\/tpennysaver\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"State sentence for driver in crash that claimed infant - PS","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2014\/11\/26\/state-sentence-for-driver-in-crash-that-claimed-infant\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"State sentence for driver in crash that claimed infant - PS","og_description":"The mother of a six-month-old infant killed last year in a car accident couldn\u2019t hold back her tears as she took the stand at the...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2014\/11\/26\/state-sentence-for-driver-in-crash-that-claimed-infant\/","og_site_name":"PS","article_published_time":"2014-11-26T00:41:50+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-12-03T21:11:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":216,"height":265,"url":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/WGSI_ZachLarue.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"tpennysaver","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"tpennysaver","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2014\/11\/26\/state-sentence-for-driver-in-crash-that-claimed-infant\/","url":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2014\/11\/26\/state-sentence-for-driver-in-crash-that-claimed-infant\/","name":"State sentence for driver in crash that claimed infant - PS","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2014\/11\/26\/state-sentence-for-driver-in-crash-that-claimed-infant\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2014\/11\/26\/state-sentence-for-driver-in-crash-that-claimed-infant\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/psowegomedia.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/WGSI_ZachLarue.jpg","datePublished":"2014-11-26T00:41:50+00:00","dateModified":"2014-12-03T21:11:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/75c26bc8e32869a516360463d23964c5"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2014\/11\/26\/state-sentence-for-driver-in-crash-that-claimed-infant\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2014\/11\/26\/state-sentence-for-driver-in-crash-that-claimed-infant\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2014\/11\/26\/state-sentence-for-driver-in-crash-that-claimed-infant\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/psowegomedia.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/WGSI_ZachLarue.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/psowegomedia.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/WGSI_ZachLarue.jpg","width":216,"height":265,"caption":"ZACH LARUE"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2014\/11\/26\/state-sentence-for-driver-in-crash-that-claimed-infant\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"State sentence for driver in crash that claimed infant"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/","name":"PS","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/75c26bc8e32869a516360463d23964c5","name":"tpennysaver","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d6045c51d67078fca07dea2f9a98096ff872042fa26efc301b1a93de9e6020ef?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d6045c51d67078fca07dea2f9a98096ff872042fa26efc301b1a93de9e6020ef?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"tpennysaver"},"url":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/author\/tpennysaver\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14046"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14046\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}