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pan6467 · 09-29-2004, 09:06 PM

His story..... and notice he had been arrested before for DUI.

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Driver gets 6 years for double fatality
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Jim Nichols
Plain Dealer Reporter
James Skolsky began serving a life sentence of grief and remorse the moment he drunkenly sped the wrong way down a street and killed two people.

A Cuyahoga County judge added a six-year prison term to that punishment Monday and revoked the 32-year-old Cleveland man's driving privileges for life. Skolsky drove his car into a cab around 9 p.m. Nov. 30, causing the deaths of cab driver David Feher and Elena Ovchinnikova, a 28-year-old Russian accountant who had stepped off a plane from Moscow less than an hour before.

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Skolsky doubled over and turned purple from sobbing as he apologized to the victims' families in court.

"They're not here anymore their lives are over, and I did it," Skolsky shouted, shaking violently and heaving. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what I can do. I wish it were me and no one else."

David Feher's brother, Tom, of Chester Township, asked Common Pleas Judge Timothy McGinty to be lenient with his brother's killer.

"Because if, at the end of this day, all we've done is lost another life that could have been productive, then we've done nothing," Tom Feher said.

"I know he will suffer, as we suffer, every day," he added.

While Tom Feher and his mother, Bonnie Gibbs, offered a measure of forgiveness to Skolsky, the state remained hard. Assistant County Prosecutor Carol Skutnik urged McGinty to be harsh.

Skutnik said it is beside the point that Skolsky is remorseful and didn't purposely kill Feher, 36, and Ovchinnikova. He still got behind the wheel of a car with a blood-alcohol content 2½ times higher than the DUI threshold, she said.

"That's what he purposely did that night," she said. "And that's what needs to be punished."

McGinty agreed, telling Skolsky he was "aiming a missile" when he got behind the wheel. As Skolsky's wife and mother wept, the judge sentenced him to back-to-back three-year terms.

Skolsky pleaded guilty July 26 to two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide while driving under the influence.

Skolsky drank heavily at a downtown concert with a friend before turning a Chevrolet Beretta west on Bolivar Road near Gateway and hurtling past five "Wrong way" signs and onto East 9th Street.

There, he hit two cars one of them the taxi in which Feher was driving his fare, Ovchinnikova, to her hotel.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Ovchinnikova died instantly. Feher was comatose for seven months before dying on July 4.

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Link:http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaind...3832102440.xml

09-29-2004, 09:06 PM	#8 (permalink)
pan6467 Lennonite Priest Location: Mansfield, Ohio USA	His story..... and notice he had been arrested before for DUI. === Driver gets 6 years for double fatality Tuesday, September 28, 2004 Jim Nichols Plain Dealer Reporter James Skolsky began serving a life sentence of grief and remorse the moment he drunkenly sped the wrong way down a street and killed two people. A Cuyahoga County judge added a six-year prison term to that punishment Monday and revoked the 32-year-old Cleveland man's driving privileges for life. Skolsky drove his car into a cab around 9 p.m. Nov. 30, causing the deaths of cab driver David Feher and Elena Ovchinnikova, a 28-year-old Russian accountant who had stepped off a plane from Moscow less than an hour before. Advertisement Skolsky doubled over and turned purple from sobbing as he apologized to the victims' families in court. "They're not here anymore their lives are over, and I did it," Skolsky shouted, shaking violently and heaving. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what I can do. I wish it were me and no one else." David Feher's brother, Tom, of Chester Township, asked Common Pleas Judge Timothy McGinty to be lenient with his brother's killer. "Because if, at the end of this day, all we've done is lost another life that could have been productive, then we've done nothing," Tom Feher said. "I know he will suffer, as we suffer, every day," he added. While Tom Feher and his mother, Bonnie Gibbs, offered a measure of forgiveness to Skolsky, the state remained hard. Assistant County Prosecutor Carol Skutnik urged McGinty to be harsh. Skutnik said it is beside the point that Skolsky is remorseful and didn't purposely kill Feher, 36, and Ovchinnikova. He still got behind the wheel of a car with a blood-alcohol content 2½ times higher than the DUI threshold, she said. "That's what he purposely did that night," she said. "And that's what needs to be punished." McGinty agreed, telling Skolsky he was "aiming a missile" when he got behind the wheel. As Skolsky's wife and mother wept, the judge sentenced him to back-to-back three-year terms. Skolsky pleaded guilty July 26 to two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide while driving under the influence. Skolsky drank heavily at a downtown concert with a friend before turning a Chevrolet Beretta west on Bolivar Road near Gateway and hurtling past five "Wrong way" signs and onto East 9th Street. There, he hit two cars one of them the taxi in which Feher was driving his fare, Ovchinnikova, to her hotel. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Ovchinnikova died instantly. Feher was comatose for seven months before dying on July 4. === Link:http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaind...3832102440.xml __________________ I just love people who use the excuse "I use/do this because I LOVE the feeling/joy/happiness it brings me" and expect you to be ok with that as you watch them destroy their life blindly following. My response is, "I like to put forks in an eletrical socket, just LOVE that feeling, can't ever get enough of it, so will you let me put this copper fork in that electric socket?"