A tearful Jesse "Tate" Whitaker, at his sentencing Friday, begged forgiveness from the family members of three Bellbrook teens killed in a November 2012 crash.
Whitaker was sentenced to 300 hours of community service, which Franklin County Juvenile Court Magistrate Larry Sanchez said would include service to high schools and teaching students about his experiences through the case.
"I can't tell you how sorry I am," Whitaker said as he turned his chair to face family members of Julianna Hawk, 14; Sophie Kerrigan, 17; and Skylar Kooken, 16. "One day I just hope maybe I can talk to you, meet you, and you can talk to me as a person."
Whitaker, now 19, was the driver of Dodge pickup truck on Wagner Road near Oleva Drive in Sugarcreek Twp. on Nov. 4, 2012. Hawk, Kerrigan and Kooken were passengers in the extended cab when Whitaker crashed into a tree.
Sanchez said no matter what the sentence was, it would not bring justice. Sanchez was assigned the case after it was moved from Greene County in April.
Lisa Sikorski, Hawk's aunt, addressed the court before sentencing.
"I don't believe that on that morning Jesse woke up and planned to wrap his truck around a tree," Sikorski said as tears flowed. "When you get behind the wheel of a vehicle you have to take the responsibility ... especially when you're driving as fast as he was that night."
Whitaker will be on parole until May 30, 2016. His driver's license is revoked until he turns 21.
"I think you deserve prison," the magistrate told Whitaker, but "we can't send him to prison."
Whitaker on April 2 changed his plea in juvenile court to "take responsibility for what he has done," said his attorney, Mark Babb.
As part of the plea deal, Whitaker was convicted on three counts of vehicular homicide and two traffic counts. Three counts of vehicular manslaughter were dismissed as part of the deal, according to Greene County records.
"This is something he'll feel deeply for the rest of his life," Babb said, in defense of Whitaker. "He is just devastated."
Some family members of the deceased teens had a hard time accepting the sentencing.
Sikorski said the magistrate "didn't have all the facts straight. That is really upsetting to us as all of our families.
"He said there were four dead girls. There wasn't. There were only three. It just really added insult to this entire case," Sikorski said.
For other family members of the deceased teens, the case did bring closure. But it won't stop the pain they live with every day.
"It's just a lose-all situation. There's no justice in anything," said Janet Carpenter, mother of Sophie Kerrigan. "I do hope, possibly, that he saves one life when he goes to the high school and educates the kids."