ELYRIA — The pleas from the victim’s family Thursday were the only thing that spared Zachary Goodin a 90-day jail sentence for killing his best friend in a car crash last year during a disposition hearing before Lorain County Juvenile Court Judge Lisa Swenski.
“I don’t want to see Zach have to do any jail time,” Kelly Friend, the mother of Cameron Friend, said tearfully. “It’s not. … It’s not going to help him any.”
Goodin, now 18, was 17 years old when he lost control of the Honda ULX he was driving July 13 while trying to jump railroad tracks on Kansas Avenue. The car careened off curbs, hit a utility pole, an unoccupied Ford Explorer and a house before slamming into a tree and catching fire.
Both Goodin and Cameron Friend, who was also 17, were critically injured in the crash. While Goodin recovered from his injuries, Friend succumbed to his wounds.
Sierra Friend, Cameron Friend’s sister who embraced Goodin as he entered the courtroom Thursday, said the relationship between her brother and Goodin went far beyond friendship. They were brothers, she said.
“I don’t think Zach deserves any jail time,” she said. “I know what they did was really, really stupid. I’ve said it multiple times. Boys being boys.”
Goodin could barely be heard over his tears as he apologized for killing Friend.
“I just want to say I’m really sorry,” he said. “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about this.”
When Swenski asked if he carried a picture of Friend with him to remind him of what he’d done, Goodin said although he didn’t have one with him he had it up in his bedroom.
“I get up, and I see it every day,” he said.
Goodin had originally faced a felony aggravated vehicular homicide charge in the case but pleaded out to misdemeanor charges of vehicular homicide and criminal damaging last month as part of a bargain with prosecutors.
Swenski said she understood the deal but struggled with not sending Goodin to jail for 90 days, the maximum sentence for the charges to which he admitted.
“I’ve having a hard time getting over the fact that he’d doing no time for taking somebody’s life, for speeding, for being reckless,” she said.
The judge said that she would abide by the wishes of Friend’s family but wanted to make sure Goodin understood what he had done and the chance she was giving him.
“You took his life. He’s not here today because of you,” Swenski told Goodin. “You better damn well make sure you do something good with your life.”
Defense attorney Kenneth Lieux said Goodin has graduated from high school and earned an associate degree through an early college program, has a job and hopes to enter the U.S. Navy. Goodin also earned his Eagle Scout badge, something Lieux argued speaks to his client’s character.
He said the crash was caused by the two teens deciding to jump the tracks as they returned home from the gym.
“Messing around, screwing around in a vehicle and jumping the tracks, had very tragic consequences for all concerned,” Lieux said.
In addition to ordering counseling for Goodin, Swenski also suspended his driver’s license for two years, although she granted him driving privileges for work and school. She also said restitution would be ordered in the case, but the amount would be set at a later date.
The crash drew heavy media coverage not only because of Friend’s death, but because nearby resident Paul Pelton entered the vehicle and recorded a video of the two injured teens.
He later posted the video online, something he claimed to have done as a warning about the dangers of reckless driving after he faced harsh criticism for his actions.
Pelton pleaded guilty in Lorain Municipal Court to vehicle trespass and persistent disorderly conduct, a charge that stemmed from him allegedly trying to convince Goodin to tell police he had permission to enter the car.
Pelton was sentenced to 30 days in jail and ordered to pay a $250 fine.
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