Matthews Bark of Seminolecounty | Judge gives 10 years to Deltona man convicted of DUI manslaughter in I-4 crash near Sanford

Source    : Orlando Sentinel
By        :  Rene Stutzman
Category  : Matthews Bark of Seminolecounty,Attorney Matthews Bark of Orlando
 

A judge this morning handed down a 10-year prison sentence to a Deltona man convicted of DUI-manslaughter in a drunk driving crash on Interstate 4 near Sanford two years ago.

Adam Devine, 32, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.13, above the state limit of 0.08 when he hit the back of a car driven by Peter Gregory Kilan, 58, who lived in Volusia County.

The impact drove Kilan's Buick into an abutment.

The crash happened about 2 a.m. Aug. 25, 2013.

Kilan was en route home from his job at Walt Disney World, where he worked as a boat captain.

Circuit Judge Marlene Alva listened to an hour of testimony this morning before pronouncing sentence. Devine had faced up to 15 years in prison.
The DUI arrest was Devine's second. His first was in 2008, said Assistant State Attorney Dom Leo. In that case, prosecutors agreed to a pre-trial diversion program and when Devine successfully completed it, the charge was dismissed.

"It was not the first time you drove impaired," said the victim's sister, Kathleen Kilan Gonzalez. "It was just the first time you killed someone."

The victim's mother, Lilia Kilan Vachon, 86, said Devine had robbed her son of 30 years of life. She told Alva that she realized she could not send him to prison for that many years but asked for the maximum allowed.

Kilan is survived by a wife, two adult children and grandchildren.Devine did not testify. He sat alone in the courtroom jury box, wearing a Seminole County jail uniform, in tears throughout much of the hearing.

Defense attorney Chris Atcachunas told the judge that the tears were evidence of remorse, but she disagreed.They may have been tears for himself or his own family, she said.

"I'd be stunned if the person wasn't crying for the devastated lives he's caused," she said. "In any event, it is not an isolated incident."The hearing began with a string of friends and relatives telling the judge that Devine is a good friend, an ideal neighbor and a terrific co-worker.

He is a former altar boy who prays for the victim's family, said his mother, Michele Devine.

His aunt, Ellen Murphy, said he's worked for more than a decade at Best Buy, most recently at its store in Altamonte Springs.

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