Guilty Plea in Donohue Deaths

“I ask for their forgiveness and am sorry for what happened in Brewster.”

Those were the words of Conses Garcia Zacarias Wednesday when pleading guilty to two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide in connection with the deaths of a Brewster woman and her eight-year-old daughter, who were run down and killed by the illegal immigrant from Guatemala while driving with a blood alcohol threshold of .15 percent— more than twice the legal limit.

The 35-year-old Zacarias’s plea came in Putnam County Court before Judge James Rooney as plans were proceeding for a trial scheduled to start on Monday.

Speaking through an interpreter, Zacarias admitted having consumed “four or five beers” before the crash. He told the court that he had the permission of the vehicle’s owner to use the white pick-up truck that slammed into Lori Donohue, 37, and her 8-year-old daughter Kayla.

Zacarias had originally been charged with vehicular manslaughter, a Class C felony carrying a maximum jail term of up to seven years. Chief Assistant District Attorney Christopher York said “after a review of additional evidence, a Grand Jury returned a ‘true bill’ charging the defendant with two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide—Class B felonies carrying 25-year state prison terms.”

“Aggravated vehicular homicide results from operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, while driving recklessly and causing the deaths of more than one person,” York explained.

Surrounded by three correctional officers and wearing manacles, Zacarias told the court that he didn’t want the family to “suffer and go through a trial of what happened. I have a daughter who suffers every day because of what I did.”

Judge Rooney told Zacarias his plea would not result in a reduced charge or a reduced sentence. “I am free to sentence you to the maximum sentence allowed by law, which is 25 years and then because you are an illegal alien in the U.S. you will face deportation,” Rooney stated. Zacarias said he understood the judge.

Lori and Kayla Donohue were killed on the evening of June 8 when the Ford pickup truck Zacarias was driving slammed into them as they walked to their car following a dance lesson at the Seven Stars Dance Studio at the intersection of Routes 6 and 22 in Brewster, leaving Robert Donohue a widower and 5-yearold Christopher Donohue motherless.

York told Judge Rooney that a surveillance camera on a dentist’s office located across the street from where the crash occurred videotaped the collision. Zacarias was represented by court-appointed attorney Timothy Curtiss of the Putnam Legal Aid Society. Curtiss told the court that he discussed the matter with his client before Zacarias made his decision.