Mother Outraged By 6-Month Sentence For Unlicensed Driver Who Killed 12-Year-Old
NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) -- The sentence for a driver who killed a child on his walk to school has been called a slap on the wrist, but the judge said he didn't have a choice.
As CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff reported, Austin Soldano was given six months for driving without a license, even though he ended a child's life.
"It's not enough, six months is not enough," the victim's mother Katie Flood said.
Zachary Rantfle's mother told the judge that laws must change so her 12-year-old son did not die in vain.
"It just came down to someone being killed, and it happened to be my son. He was great. He was great. Had the smile that lit up the whole room," she said.
The 7th grader was struck and killed while walking to school in Valley Stream. Soldano was behind the wheel of an SUV, illegally.
His license was suspended after a litany of dangerous crimes including a 2011 conviction for DWI and unlicensed driving, a 2013 arrest for reckless driving, fleeing police, and crashing into a trooper's car, and in 2014 running red lights, driving drunk, fleeing police, and hitting cars.
His license was suspended, but Soldano drove again striking and killing Rantfle in 2014. His Facebook page is a catalog of souped up cars and motorcycles.
"His terrible decisions and his terrible driving directly led to Zachary Rantfle's death," Assistant Nassau County District Attorney Maureen McCormick said.
Prosecutors called it a clear case for stiffer penalties. The Nassau DA would make it a felony to drive with a suspended license and kill, punishable with up to seven years in prison.
"The fact that we can't get justice for these perpetrators is really sad. The penalty is minuscule," Assemblyman Todd Kaminsky (D-Long Beach) said.
The bill failed last year in the assembly.
Soldano wouldn't speak to reporters, but did make a statement in court.
"There are no words that can express how sorry I am. If I knew how to turn this into good I would," he said.
Zachary's mother wasn't buying it.
"I didn't believe it for a moment. The laws need to change," she said.
The judge agreed that the law is inadequate, but the sentence includes 5 years of probation and an ignition interlock to prevent drunk driving. Soldano could be out and eligible to get his license back in a year.
Soldano was also sentenced to a year in jail for a prior DWI.
