A Livingston man was sentenced to six years in prison Friday for an August 2013 drunk driving accident that killed two Maplewood men and seriously injured two others, according to an NJ.com report.
Tamir Harry, 16, and Kevin Noel, 21, were killed on August 6, 2013 when Harrison Allen, then 20, of Montclair, ran a stop sign at the corner of Essex Avenue and South Fourth Street in Maplewood and crashed into a Nissan Sentra. Harry’s 20-year-old brother, Tashir, and Rodney Lovius, 21, also of Maplewood, were seriously injured in the accident. Both have since recovered.
Maplewood held a memorial service for the two this past August, and dedicated a plaque in their honor.
Allen pleaded guilty on Sept. 9 to vehicular homicide and assault by auto charges. Under a plea deal, prosecutors agreed to recommend a six-year prison sentence. Allen must serve five years before being eligible for parole.
Allen was reportedly going twice the local speed limit when he drove through the intersection, hitting the car with the four men inside.
At the August memorial service, Harry’s mother, Pamela Ferguson, thanked God for “sparing one son and taking another” so he didn’t suffer. She said she prayed for the Allen family as well as the Noel family and her own.
Ferguson told the court on Friday her two younger children pass the intersection every day on their way to school, forcing them to relive the accident, according to the NJ.com article. Ferguson said her family had been changed forever.
An emotional Allen, who is the son of the former Montclair Fire Chief, said he was “truly sorry” for the accident and that he would make it his “life’s mission to make sure that this does not happen again.”
Allen’s mother said she thinks of the victims’ families daily and wishes she could ease their pain.
Noel’s sister, Vanessa, who said at the August memorial service that her brother’s death “rocked” her, told the court that Allen’s family would never understand her family’s pain, knowing the only way they can see her brother is by visiting his grave.
Superior Court Judge Ronald Wigler called the case a “true tragedy for every single person involved.”
