3-month sentence for fatal crash

Judge rules driver asleep at the wheel, but not negligent

Gazette Staff Writer

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JAMES CITY -- A grieving daughter is struggling to find solace in the prosecution of the driver responsible for the death of her 74- year-old mother.

Cezary R. Wilk, 23, a Polish exchange worker, was charged only with reckless driving after he apparently fell asleep while driving to work the morning of Aug. 2.

The case highlights the danger of driving while impaired. The question is, When is being sleepy negligent in a car accident? Wilk's Pontiac Grand Prix crossed over Pocahontas Trail and rammed a Honda Civic driven by Madeline Joyce Gallimore of James City. She died at the scene.

Judith Scott, Gallimore's daughter, questioned why Wilk didn't face the more serious charge of manslaughter, a felony carrying up to 10 years. A reckless driving conviction seldom generates jail time, although sentencing guidelines allow up to 12 months.

"We are ready to hang Michael Vick for killing dogs," Scott said Thursday from her job in North Carolina. "Don't get me wrong. I love dogs. But this boy kills my mother, destroys our lives, and it's okay. He hit her clean off the road and broke her neck on the spot." Wilk pleaded guilty Friday to reckless driving, a misdemeanor. General District Judge Colleen Killilea sentenced him to three months in jail.

Assistant commonwealth attorney Cathy Black explained that the reason Wilk wasn't charged with a more serious offense was that there was no evidence of anything criminal. Black said there was no evidence of excessive speeding, or drugs or alcohol in Wilk's system.

Black added that a witness driving near Wilk at the time of the accident said that there was nothing unusual about his driving. A reconstruction of the accident by State Police revealed nothing suspicious.

State Police believe Wilk may have simply fallen asleep. Scott is more skeptical. "I saw a beer can in the back of his car," she recalled. "I'd like to know when they did a blood alcohol test on him."

Wilk's attorney, Tom Turbeville, called Gallimore's death a "tremendous tragedy" and said his client was very "remorseful." "Another second either way and she would not have been affected by this," Turbeville said. "Falling asleep for a second or two is all it took."

Turbeville said that Wilk had no criminal history in Poland and no citations on his driving record.

Black told the court that Gallimore's family was disappointed by the charge. Despite their strong feelings, none of the family attended Wilk's hearing, where they could have addressed the court.

"They feel that no one cares about what happened to their mother," Black said. Killilea agreed that the facts would not have supported involuntary manslaughter. In an interview after the hearing, Black explained that according to the Code of Virginia, involuntary manslaughter compels a reckless disregard for human life, "a disregard of safety for others that is likely to cause injury."

She added, "It would have to be a reckless indifference of the consequences. The person would have to be aware that his conduct would probably cause injuries to another person." Black said that falling asleep at the wheel is included in the definition of reckless driving, but a manslaughter conviction requires that the driver was aware of the dangers of falling asleep.

Black recalled a case in which someone had been awake for nearly 24 hours, was driving 20 miles home and dozed off multiple times before causing an accident. "In that case he caught himself drifting four or five times," Black said. "He knew that what he was doing could hurt someone." Wilk told police he wasn't any more tired than usual on the day of the accident. It was only five miles from his home to work at Busch Gardens.

Moved by the fact that a life was lost, Killilea ordered Wilk to jail. She noted that the more stringent sentence was because the "end result was the unintentional death of someone else."

"I think the whole thing is just terrible," Scott said. "This boy has disrupted our lives. Our whole family is turned upside down." When told that Wilk received jail time, Scott softened. "It's better than nothing. I feel better. It's not going to bring her back, but I feel better."