Thursday, February 25, 2010

The tragedy of DWI ripples out from the scene of the crime

From the McClatchy News Service on 02/23/10:

As a bailiff carted 24-year-old Jennifer Cowgill off to prison, Gracie Smith asked if she could give Cowgill, her brother's killer, a hug.

Cowgill never got that hug, but she wiped away tears with shackled hands as family members of 51-year-old Irvin Tefertiller stood and offered her their forgiveness.

Cowgill was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison for hitting Tefertiller while driving her sport utility vehicle with marijuana and alcohol in her system, then fleeing barefoot from the crash in east Modesto last May.

Honey, you didn't leave victims on one side of the room. You left them all over," Smith said, as Cowgill's 5-year-old son bounced on the laps of her family and friends in the courtroom.

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