WARREN - An Austintown truck driver that rammed into several cars killing three Marine Corps recruits and injuring nine others will spend 16 years in prison.
Donald Williams Jr., 46, was handed down the sentence today by Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Judge Andrew Logan. About 80 people appeared in court for the hearing this afternoon.
Nine people, including surviving family members and one man who suffered a spinal fracture delivered impact statements in the 45-minute hearing.
Article Video
The chain-reaction crash March 31, 2010, killed Michael T. Theodore Jr., 19, of Howland; Joshua A. Sherbourne, 21, of Southington; and Zachary Nolen, 19, of Newton Falls.
The three, along with another recruit and a recruiter, were headed to Cleveland to finalize their enlistment papers when they were rear-ended by the semi driven by Williams at the intersection of state Route 5 and Burnett Road in Leavittsburg.
Williams pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, three counts of aggravated vehicular assault, three counts of vehicular assault and drug possession.
He was found to have diazepam and nordiazepam in his system.