COLONIE, N.Y. (NEWS10) – A woman who pleaded guilty
in a drunk driving crash that resulted in the death of an 18-year-old girl
learned her fate in court on Thursday.
Jessica Bellerose, of Troy, had no comment when
asked by the judge on Thursday. The judge calling her silence deafening.
This right after Paige Ahearn’s family told
Bellerose how badly her choices last year have hurt their family forever.
“The unimaginable has happened to me. Not because of
an illness. Not because of an accident. Not because of an act of God, but
because of the reckless, selfish, irresponsible act of a drunk driver,” Colleen
O’Connell, Mother of Paige Ahearn, said.
Her hands shaking, barely able to hold the letter,
the reality of a mother’s heartache evident as O’Connell addressed the woman
convicted of killing her daughter 18-year-old Paige Ahearn.
O’Connell described a hellish life of anxiety and
sadness, telling Bellerose how her actions last October changed her life
forever.
“My whole life was shattered. My heart was broken
when my worst nightmare came true. Some days it’s so unbearable I just want to
die.”
Police say Bellerose had been drinking all day last
October before her car swerved off the road on Alternate Route 7. Her vehicle
became airborne, crossed the median and landed on Paige’s car her with her
boyfriend DJ also inside.
“Not only did you destroy the very heart and spirit
of our family you destroyed the spirit of our whole community, Pages home her
beloved Waterford,” John Ahearn, Father of Paige Ahearn, said.
Ahearn says Paige was the light of his life.
“Never will we have the opportunity to hear her
voice. Never will we be able to just call her to talk.”
Ahearn says his family has been served a life
sentence without Paige. He’s angry that Bellerose was only sentenced to a
minimum of 2 1/3rd years in jail.
“If it were a knife, a boot, or if it were a gun you
know you’d be talking about double digits of 20 years to 25 years,” David
Soares, Albany County District Attorney, said.
Bellerose’s attorney addressed the judge’s comments
on her silence. Her attorney says she is very remorseful.
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