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| Agreement called for 10 years suspended and juvenile detention |
Marina Snyder |
Friday, June 22, 2012
By KEN BRADLEY - Staff Writer
A decision on a plea agreement involving a charge of involuntary manslaughter against a Wirtz teenager in connection with a fatal traffic crash on Jan. 23 was delayed until the teen's sentencing hearing on Aug. 2.
Marina Danelle Snyder, 18, is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Zachary Ian Parsons, 17, of Boones Mill, who was a front-seat passenger in the 2000 Mercury Cougar she was driving when the crash occurred on Route 122. Four others were injured in the crash.
Franklin County Circuit Court Judge W.N. Alexander II said Thursday he would not accept or reject the guilty plea until after a presentence report is prepared on Snyder.
The agreement calls for Snyder to plead guilty to the involuntary manslaughter charge, receive a 10-year prison sentence with all the time suspended and be committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice.
Youths committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice usually serve an indeterminate amount of time up to the age of 21, said Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Patrick Nix.
Nix told the judge that the father of Zachary Parsons is in agreement with the plea and has visited Snyder since the crash on Jan. 23.
Alexander ordered Snyder not to leave her parent's home except to go to medical appointments, the local probation office or meet with her lawyers.
Snyder and two other teenagers in her car were injured in the crash, along with the driver of a pickup truck that was struck by Snyder's car, Nix said during his summary of the evidence Thursday.
The crash occurred about 3:34 p.m. when the Cougar driven by Snyder was traveling north on Route 122 near Beechdale Road. The car was traveling at a high rate of speed when it entered a curve, Nix said. Snyder lost control of the car, which crossed the center lane and struck two southbound vehicles -- a 2008 Toyota Scion, driven by Jason Beavers, 28, of Collinsville and a 2004 Dodge Dakota pickup, driven by Jonathan Hall, 26, of Glade Hill.
After the Cougar struck the two vehicles, it ran off the left side of the roadway and struck a building and two parked cars that were unoccupied, Nix said.
Beavers was not injured, but Hall was transported to the hospital, Nix said. Snyder and two 17-year-old males in the back seat of the Cougar were also transported to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
Snyder, who sustained significant injuries in the crash, had been homeschooled since February. She graduated from Franklin County High School earlier this month.
The maximum sentence for involuntary manslaughter is 10 years in prison.
Three civil lawsuits have been filed against Snyder in connection with the crash.
Gregory Kinsey has filed a $2.5 million lawsuit on behalf of his son, Anthony Cole Kinsey, 17, who was a back-seat passenger in the car driven by Snyder. Kinsey sustained a traumatic brain injury, along with multiple facial bone fractures, fractures to both legs and lacerations to his spleen and liver, according to Will Davis, Kinsey's attorney.
The estate of Zachary Ian Parsons, who was killed in the Jan. 23 crash, filed a $2.5 million lawsuit against Snyder in February.
Jonathan Hall also filed a lawsuit in February against Snyder. The lawsuit alleges that Snyder "operated her vehicle in the plaintiff's lane of travel," striking his pickup "with great force and violence." |
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