Family Furious At Possible Lenient Sentence For LI Teen In Deadly Crash
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- There was an emotional plea Thursday from the families of five teenagers killed in a Long Island crash.
As CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff reported, the admitted drag racer who left the scene of the crash will be sentenced on Friday, and the victims' relatives said Cory Gloe does not deserve the leniency the judge offered him.
Gloe was offered a six-month plea deal in the crash that 17-year-old Tristan Reichle and four others in a drag-racing crash in 2014. Also killed were Carly Marie Lonnborg, 14, Noah Francis, 15, Jesse Romero, 18, and Cody Talanian, 17.
Prosecutors said Gloe challenged Reichle to a drag race on Mother's Day 2014. Reichle and his passengers were killed when he lost control of his Nissan while driving down Conklin Street in Farmingdale, crossed into oncoming traffic and then hit a sport-utility vehicle.
"I wouldn't wish my pain, or any of these parents' pain, on my worst enemy," said Sandra Lonnborg, the mother of Carly Lonnberg.
Tears flowed in the Lonnborg home on the eve of sentencing, two years after Mother's Day was shattered by the crash that took their daughter' life
"We were so close. She was so smart – milestones, they hurt. It hurts all the time," Sandra Lonnborg said.
The victims' families are also fuming. Gloe, who admits he challenged Reichle to the drag race, may be sentenced as a youthful offender.
Even though Gloe was almost 18 at the time of the crash, a judge offered a second chance – a six-month youthful offender sentence.
But since then, Gloe has been rearrested. He was a passenger in a car that was stopped for speeding in Farmingdale in March, and Nassau County police said they spotted a small bag of marijuana and a "gravity knife'' in the car.
Gloe was arrested on a charge of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
Gloe appeared to have posted an Instagram selfie outside court with a message cursing police, right after the judge offered leniency.
"The court building just over his shoulder, 'expletive' the police – it's so brazen," Sandra Lonnborg said.
And in his profile quote, Gloe allegedly wrote, "I'll be in and out faster than you can spin a doubt."
"The judge went out on a limb. He was gracious enough to give this young man a wonderful opportunity," Sandra Lonnborg said. "It's like he spit on the judge and the community."
"A youthful offender to me is a onetime stupid mistake by a kid that you're truly sorry for," added Tracy McGlone, Carly Lonnborg's aunt. "He is not, and he's continued his pattern of behavior."
Sandra Lonnborg said her daughter and the rest of the group in the car with Reichle barely knew Gloe as he goaded Reichle to race. She believes the sentence should send a message.
"Life is just – it's not expendable," she said, "and that this what will happen."
"He needs to think for a while about what he did. Not giving him four months. I don't think he's going to have an epiphany in four months," said Carly Lonnborg's uncle, Mark McGlone.
At the same time, Gloe's family and friends petitioned Judge Terrance Murphy to uphold his original offer of youthful offender pleading, saying if given the chance, Gloe will be a productive member of society. The judge has said he is under no obligation to do so.
Gloe faces up to 22 years on charges of manslaughter and leaving the scene of a fatal accident. The Nassau County District Attorney's office opposed the youthful offender designation.
Gloe's attorney did not respond to requests for comment.
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