Springfield man sentenced in pedestrian’s death

A 22-year-old Springfield, Vt., man who fled the scene after his car struck and killed a pedestrian pleaded guilty to charges in the case on Tuesday and was sentenced to six months of home confinement.

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Springfield, Vt., Man Sentenced in Pedestrian’s Death James Ribeiro, 22, of Springfield, Vt., apologizes to Steven Lapre's parents in Windsor Superior Court in White River Junction, Vt., on March 21, 2017, where Ribeiro pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of a fatal accident in June 2016. (Valley News - Geoff Hansen) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. Purchase a reprint » James Ribeiro and Ruby Hill embrace in the Windsor Superior Court lobby in White River Junction, Vt., on March 21, 2017, after Ribeiro pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of a fatal accident in June 2016. Hill's son, Steven Lapre, was a pedestrian who was killed in the Springfield, Vt., crash. (Valley News - Geoff Hansen) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. Purchase a reprint » James Ribeiro, 22, of Springfield, Vt., apologizes to Steven Lapre's parents, left, in Windsor Superior Court in White River Junction, Vt., on March 21, 2017, where Ribeiro pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of a fatal accident in June 2016. (Valley News - Geoff Hansen) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. Purchase a reprint » By Matt Hongoltz-Hetling Valley News Staff Writer Tuesday, March 21, 2017 SPRINGFIELD VT White River Junction — A 22-year-old Springfield, Vt., man who fled the scene after his car struck and killed a pedestrian pleaded guilty to charges in the case on Tuesday and was sentenced to six months of home confinement. In court, James Ribeiro acknowledged that he was briefly distracted by his vibrating cellphone when the crash occurred last summer. Police say Ribeiro, then 21, left the Springfield McDonald’s on the evening of June 9, 2016, and was driving down River Street when his car struck and killed Steven Lapre, 37, and seriously injured another pedestrian, Pamela Runnells, 31. “Was he going to do the right thing? Or was he going to flee?” asked Windsor County State’s Attorney David Cahill. “Here he did the wrong thing, and he fled.” Cahill cited Ribeiro’s youth and the split-second nature of his decision to flee the scene in asking Windsor Superior Court Judge Theresa DiMauro to limit the punishment to home confinement and a four-year probationary period during which even a minor traffic violation could result in jail time. Shortly before the sentence was announced, a straight-backed Ribeiro, wearing a white dress shirt and slate-gray dress pants, pleaded guilty to one count of leaving the scene of a crash involving a fatality, one count of leaving the scene of a crash involving a serious injury, and a DUI charge. The DUI charge was not directly related to the collision that took Lapre’s life, but was based on Ribeiro’s admission that after the accident, he went home and smoked marijuana before driving to the police station to turn himself in about 90 minutes later. During that drive to the police station, Cahill said, Ribeiro’s “ability to react to unforeseen hazards on the road was diminished.” Conditions of his probation include a requirement to complete a restorative justice program, and not to drive without at least $500,000 in insurance. Ribeiro’s attorney, Jordana Levine, told DiMauro that Ribeiro does not intend to drive in the foreseeable future. While at the police station, Ribeiro told Sgt. Jeremy Fitzgibbons that his phone, sitting in the cupholder of the car, vibrated, distracting him from the road, when the crash occurred, according to a police affidavit. Cahill said that the charges did not address the actual collision, only the decision to flee afterwards, when the victims might have benefited from Ribeiro stopping to call for help and administer first aid. “What is notable about the charges before the court is what they are not. The charges are not allocating fault for the collision,” he said. Meghan Place, a victim’s advocate, read a statement on behalf of Steven Lapre’s mother, Ruby Hill, who said that she was not advocating jail time, but felt keenly the loss of her son. “We will never forget the look on his face when we went to see him at the funeral home,” she said. Of Ribeiro, the statement read, “my suggestion is to have him watch the autopsy.” Steven Lapre, who owned Lapre Landscaping in Springfield, was described in his obituary as a “painter, handyman and jack of all trades” who “enjoyed hunting, fishing and camping.” He had six children. Cahill said the home confinement was in keeping with the desire of the Vermont Legislature to keep non-violent offenders out of jail. After DiMauro invited Ribeiro to speak, he directly addressed Hill, Steven Lapre’s mother. “I’m really sorry. I’m so sorry,” he said, through tears. “I don’t know what else to say, other than I’m sorry.” After a brief exchange, Hill asked him if he had picked up his phone when it vibrated in the moments before the accident. “No ma’am, I did not,” Ribeiro answered. “It was in my cupholder. And if I may say so, I just looked down and up and it was too late, and I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Cahill referred to the suggestion that Ribeiro was actively texting, or under the influence of marijuana at the time of the collision, as “innuendo.” In the courtroom lobby, Ribeiro came face to face with the victim’s father, Robert Lapre, a burly man with thick iron curls, who used a cane to walk. After a few moments of quiet conversation in which Lapre did most of the talking, Lapre and Ribeiro hugged. “You’re too young,” Lapre told him. “Keep working.” Afterward, Lapre said he felt the sentence was appropriate. “I do forgive him,” he said. “People all over make bad decisions. He made a bad decision, and as a consequence, my son died.”