Teen sent to jail after serious crash

NORTH COLLINS, N.Y. (WIVB) - It's been a long and difficult journey back for a family that fell victim to drunk driving. The father of the victim spoke as the teen-aged driver learned his fate on Tuesday.

An Orchard Park teenager faced sentencing on the highest charge possible for a crash that seriously injured his passengers and the judge ruled he will serve jail time. We are withholding the defendant's name because he has been granted youthful offender status.

A judge sentenced the 18-year-old driver to six months in jail and five years probation. He pleaded guilty to vehicular assault and DWI for a crash that happened on Clarksburg Road in North Collins last March.

Investigators say the teenager went too fast around a curve and slammed into a parked tractor trailer. Three passengers in the car were hurt, including his girlfriend who was the most seriously hurt, unable to walk for three months.

Her family was at the sentencing and her father says he hopes everyone can move forward.

Larry Evola said, "I don't think there are any winners and I don't think there are any losers here; the judge made that decision and we're okay with that. We just want to concentrate on Lauren and our family and put all of that back together and move on as a family and just let everybody heal up after the accident and what happened after."

The 18-year-old driver will start serving his sentence on Friday. The judge wanted to give him the opportunity to take his GED exam, which was already scheduled for Thursday.