Trombley pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide while operating under the influence of alcohol.
SPRINGFIELD – An 18-year-old Springfield man was given a 1½-year jail term Tuesday after pleading guilty in a drunken driving case that killed his teenage passenger.
Jake Trombley, of Brandon Avenue, pleaded guilty to a charge of vehicular homicide while operating under the influence of alcohol during a hearing in Hampden Superior Court.
Trombley apologized to the family of his victim, 17-year-old Alicia M. Rodrigues of Ludlow, and took responsibility for the early morning crash on Allen Street in October.
Judge C. Jeffrey Kinder gave the defendant a 2½-year sentence, with 1½ years to be served at the Hampden County House of Correction and one year suspended.
The courtroom was crowded with family, friends and neighbors of Trombley, who stood up and expressed remorse to the victim’s family before the sentencing. Assistant District Attorney James M. Forsyth had asked Kinder to impose a three- to five-year sentence.
Outside the courtroom, a man who identified himself as the victim’s father said his family did not want to discuss the sentence, but added: “There are no winners in something like this.”
Defense lawyer Peter P. Fenton said his client had cooperated with investigators and accepted responsibility for the fatal crash from the start.
“He’s a good kid,” Fenton said, adding that Trombley has been working two jobs, attending Holyoke Community College and performing community service since the crash.
In June, the victim’s mother, Michelle Zygarowski, was given 800 hours of community service after being found guilty of buying alcohol for her daughter and two others on the night of the crash. Her daughter and the others later went on to drink alcohol with Trombley, and all four got into a car in the early morning hours of Oct. 2, according to police.
Trombley was behind the wheel at about 1:15 a.m. when his 1995 Nissan Maxima flipped onto its roof and pinned Rodrigues underneath, according to police, who said Rodrigues was not wearing a seat belt.