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Teen sentenced for fatal crash on I-86

Posted October 16, 2007 11:00 pm

A teenage girl from Elmira was sentenced Tuesday to 1 to 3 years in state prison for causing a crash last year that killed an elderly Pennsylvania woman and injured several others.

Mackenzie Westervelt wept as Steuben County Judge Joseph Latham imposed the sentence, a more severe penalty than anticipated.

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Westervelt, 19, was set to receive a more lenient sentence as part of a plea deal reached last April with prosecutors, but she was arrested last month for driving with a revoked license, a fact that didn't sit well with the court.

"I feel the defendant has violated the condition of her release," Latham said. "She should not have been driving."

Westervelt had been released on her own recognizance to await sentencing. She pleaded guilty in April to reckless endangerment and criminally negligent homicide.

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Evelyn Peljae, 73, died as the result of the crash, which occurred July 26, 2006, on a stretch of Interstate Highway 86 in Campbell.

According to police, Westervelt's car collided with a vehicle driven by Frank Peljae, the victim's husband.

After the collision, the Peljaes' vehicle skidded into the median and rolled several times. The vehicle came to rest in a swampy area of the median.

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A passerby freed the Peljaes after their vehicle became partially submerged in water.

Evelyn Peljae died two days later.

"You made me an orphan," said Bonnie Houghtaling, the victim's daughter. "I watched her take her last breath. I kissed her good-bye. Your actions since the accident make me wonder if you have any remorse."

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Frank Peljae said he and his wife had only been married for three weeks when Westervelt's carelessness stole his life.

"(Westervelt) caused a lot of pain, a lot of heartache," Frank Peljae said. "I'm still in shock. It just keeps coming back to me."

Westervelt told the family she was remorseful.

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"I just want to say I'm sorry," Westervelt said while fighting back tears. "I didn't mean it. It will never happen again."

Like the victim's family, Westervelt's parents wept during the proceedings.

Westervelt was sentenced as a youthful offender. She was 17 at the time of the crash.

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