Man faces 4.5 years for '03 death

Jan. 16, 2007

By MARY AMES

Frontiersman

PALMER - A man whose driver's license was suspended when his truck, with no working defroster, hit and killed a snowmachiner, was sentenced to four and a half years in prison on Friday.

Joseph S. Obrien, 38, was convicted by a jury in early October of criminally negligent homicide and driving with a canceled, suspended or revoked license.

Obrien was handed a four-year sentence, with three years suspended, for the Jan. 6, 2003, death of Calvin Toal. Superior Court Judge Eric Smith added six months - to be served consecutively - for the license charge, and five years probation.

Suzanne Powell, assistant district attorney, noted Obrien faced a presumptive sentence of one to three years. Powell asked the court to hand Obrien a four-year sentence, with three suspended, and 10 years probation for killing Toal. Powell also asked for one year for Obrien's charge of driving with a canceled, suspended or revoked license, and that he not be allowed to drive while he is on probation.

Obrien had no previous felony convictions, Powell said, just some misdemeanor assaults. However, he had numerous traffic violations. She ticked off 10 prior counts, including several for speeding. In a taped interview with troopers at the time of the crash, Obrien said he was aware of his driving problems, she said.

&#8220He knew his defroster didn't work, and his brakes were impaired,” she said. &#8220He made a deliberate decision to get behind the wheel.”

Toal and a friend were traveling on their snowmachines along the Parks Highway, just north of the turnoff to Big Lake Road. They were heading south on the shoulder of the northbound lane by the guardrail. Three witnesses testified they saw the snowmachiners clearly, and saw Obrien swerve to the right, strike the guardrail and hit nearly head on with Toal's snowmachine.

Toal's snowmachine was on the Parks Highway illegally, headed in the opposite direction, argued Lee deGrazia, Obrien's public defender, and Toal was legally intoxicated at the time. Eyewitness testimony at Obrien's September trial was contradictory, it was unclear whether Toal wore a helmet, and everything happened very fast, she said.

Charles Toal, Calvin's father, spoke by phone. He and Katrina Toal, Calvin's stepmother, raised him from the time he was a toddler, Charles Toal said. They raised Calvin and their other children to be responsible, and show kindness and respect, Charles Toal said. He lost his son because Obrien, with no insurance and no license, drove a truck that should not have been on the road and he didn't even scrape the windshield clear, he said.

Obrien showed poor judgment and no respect for the law, he said.

&#8220I watched his grown brothers cry like babies,” Charles Toal said. &#8220His negligence shouldn't have taken another.”

The family lost a son, brother, partner and father, said Katrina Toal, who also spoke by phone at Obrien's sentencing. She sat through his entire trial, she said.

&#8220I had to know what happened,” Katrina Toal said. &#8220No reasonable person would drive like that on a cold Alaska winter night. I was touched by the witnesses who testified and said they wanted to block out that scene.”

Driving is a privilege, not a right, Katrina Toal said, and she didn't want Obrien to ever drive again.

David Obrien, brother of the defendant, offered his condolences to the Toal family, but felt &#8220very appalled,” he said, that the state wanted to punish his brother.

&#8220The real negligence is the snowmachine on the road,” David Obrien said. &#8220But to punish Joe, sure he did something wrong. He drove with a suspended license.”

The stress and remorse Joseph Obrien felt after the crash brought on a diagnosis of schizophrenia, said Rita Pierce, the defendant's sister.

His speeding tickets were because he delivered pizzas, and had to get the goods to customers on time, she said.

&#8220Joe didn't do anything wrong,” she said. &#8220The responsibility was on both drivers. The jury would have acquitted Joe if it knew Toal was legally drunk.”

Joseph Obrien said he was sorry, but he didn't see how anyone could say he swerved that night.

&#8220As far as I can see, I did all the right things I could,” he said. &#8220Except maybe for making that trip.”

Judge Smith said it was a tragic case all around, with Toal's family suffering a severe impact, and Obrien and his family impacted as well.

And the way he read the law, Smith said, Toal's blood-alcohol level wasn't relevant. From trial testimony, Toal - and the crash that killed him - were on the right shoulder of the road, the judge said.

As he handed down Obrien's sentence, Smith said the court needed to send a message.

&#8220You don't drive when you can barely see outside,” he said. &#8220You make sure your vehicle is in working condition.”

Smith ordered Obrien not to drive without a valid license, noting his record showed &#8220insufficient attention to driving laws.”

&#8220To put it bluntly, sir, you killed somebody,” Smith said.

DeGrazia asked the court to delay the date Obrien was to start serving his sentence until after a higher court ruled on his appeal.

Smith set Feb. 16 as the day Obrien should start serving his sentence, saying the necessary sequence of legal events precluded him from ordering Obrien to begin serving his sentence until after the appeal ruling.