.BROOKSVILLE - Angela Stone said the most agonizing reminder that her daughter is gone is watching Shelby's three dogs pace the hallways looking for her. Sammie, Chaos, and Ruger "know that's something's wrong, " she said.
Shelby Hagman died on April 13, the day after a Dodge pickup plowed into the right side of the minivan she was riding in with her grandparents, Larry and Deborah Wynn of Brooksville. She was 13 years old.
The driver of the truck, Christopher Marcone, 24, of Brooksville was arrested Wednesday by the Florida Highway Patrol. He has been charged with DUI/manslaughter, vehicular homicide, and DUI with serious bodily injury and was being held on $59, 000 bail.
Marcone's truck failed to stop at a stop sign and collided with the Wynns' 2004 Kia van at the intersection of Park Ridge Road and Sherman Hills Boulevard, according to the FHP.
Reports show that Marcone's blood alcohol level was 0.207, more than twice the level at which a driver is presumed impaired
Christopher Marcone after the car crash
.BROOKSVILLE - Shelby Hagman was only 13 when she died last year after a wreck involving a drunken driver. A Hernando County judge decided Friday that the driver, Christopher Marcone, should serve a year in prison for each year of her life.
Shelby's family wanted the reverse: a year in prison for each year she didn't get to live. But they knew that went beyond the state's sentencing guidelines.
"It's not the maximum, which is 15 years ... but this young lady was cut down in her 13th year," said Circuit Judge Stephen Rushing in explaining his ruling.
The decision came at the end of a two-hour sentencing hearing filled with tears, tissues and the raw emotions of two families each dealing with a tragedy.
"All we have left are pictures, fading memories and a tree on the side of the road that we stop to visit and place flowers," said Jason Stone, Shelby's uncle. "That tree will never celebrate a birthday. It will never hunt Easter eggs.... It will never open a Christmas gift and most of all it will never put its arms around my sister and tell her it loves her. We are all here for justice today."
The crash occurred the evening of April 12 when Shelby was riding in a minivan with her grandparents, Larry and Deborah Wynn of Brooksville.
Marcone's Dodge pickup ran a stop sign at the intersection of Park Ridge Road and Sherman Hills Boulevard in a residential neighborhood east of Interstate 75 and plowed into the right side of the van.
Shelby, who lived part of the time with her grandparents and attended D.S. Parrot Middle School, died from her injuries the next day at the hospital.
Larry Wynn and Deborah Wynn also suffered major injuries, including numerous broken bones.
An investigation showed that Marcone, 25, was driving about 30 mph above the posted speed limit and had a blood-alcohol level of 0.207, more than twice the level at which a driver is presumed impaired.
Marcone pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter and three related charges last month. The open plea left his punishment to the discretion of the court after a sentencing hearing.
Five members of Shelby's family testified first, taking turns as they tried to put an indescribable loss into words.
"Shelby was robbed of all her tomorrows," said Shane Harris, the owner of Learning Tree Day Care, who Shelby called her "day care daddy."
Those closest described Shelby as the light in a room; a genuinely wholesome young girl who loved to laugh and make others do the same. After graduating from high school, she talked of traveling to California and considered becoming a crime scene technician.
"At 2:30 p.m., I still think of putting on my shoes and going up to the bus stop to get her," said her grandmother. "Bus 346 ..."
Shelby's mother, Angie Stone, 32, listened but was too shaken to talk. She moved to Ocala with her fiance in June 2006 but soon after let Shelby live with her grandparents so she could stay close to her friends.
Virginia Arnold, Shelby's aunt, implored the judge to set an example with his sentence and give Marcone the maximum punishment. "You are presenting a bar of accountability for the youth of Hernando County," she said.
When it came time for Marcone's family, his father, Barry Marcone, talked first and described a nonprofit foundation he created to help educate teenagers about the dangers of driving drunk.
"I'm going to dedicate my life to make a difference," he said, asking the judge to give his son the opportunity to give back through the organization instead of a lengthy prison sentence.
Family members described Marcone as timid and shy. He has battled "inner demons" of alcoholism and depression but is a caring person. His mother, Rose Marcone, apologized to Shelby's family but defended her son.
"People really only know Chris from the accident," she said. "Unfortunately he made a terrible mistake driving that day.... But my son is not a killer or a murderer. He would not intend to hurt anybody."
Wearing a dark suit on his tall, slender frame, Marcone trembled as his listened to all the testimony. When it was his turn to take the stand, he spoke softly and apologized to Shelby's family for the first time.
He wanted to express his remorse sooner, but his lawyer advised against it. He read a hand-written letter he penned five days after the accident but never sent.
"I can't tell you how sorry I am for what happened," he said. "I would do anything I could to take back that night."
The judge gave Marcone the 13-year prison sentence followed by three years of probation, which falls between the minimum and maximum sentencing guidelines.
He said he was moved by all the testimony. "This is just a sad, sad situation," Rushing said.
