644,056 @ 11:58 am
Drunk driver gets up to 12 years for cop’s death in accident he wasn’t involved in
New York Post Wed, Mar 9 11:35 AM PST
A screengrab from a video of James Ryan (right) before his
sentencing in the death of police officer Joseph Olivieri Jr. Photo: AP; Jim Staubitser video
A Long Island man was sentenced to up to 12 years in prison
Wednesday for the DWI-related death of a Nassau County cop — even
though he wasn’t driving the car that killed the officer.Police Officer Joseph Olivieri was responding to two crashes caused by James Ryan’s drunken driving, jurors found in January, when another driver slammed into Ryan’s car on the Long Island Expressway and then fatally struck Olivieri.
”I want to say to the Olivieri family, words don’t express how deeply sorry I am for your loss,” a choked-up Ryan told relatives of the officer in the courtroom. “And the officer was a very great man and I deeply regret he lost his life that night.”
Ryan’s teary-eyed parents sat behind him throughout the hour-long hearing. Under sentencing guidelines, he’ll serve a minimum of five years. The 29-year-old had faced up to 20 years in prison on the 10 counts on which he was convicted.
http://nypost.com/2016/03/09/drunk-driver-gets-8-years-for-cops-death-during-dwi-rampage/