Driver sentenced to 1.5 to 4.5 years behind bars in DWI death of teen in Yonkers
WHITE PLAINS, Westchester County (WABC) -- The drunk driver who hit and killed a 16-year-old boy last year in Yonkers was sentenced.
Stephen Dolan, 46, was an employee with the Yonkers Public Works Department when he hit and killed 16-year-old Christopher Jack "C.J." Hackett in August 2022.
Prosecutors say surveillance video showed Dolan having at least 17 drinks before he got behind the wheel, hitting the teen who was riding his scooter near his home.
Dolan was sentenced to one and a half years to four and a half years in prison for vehicular manslaughter, as was the agreement the plea deal he accepted back in September.
The teen, who was just weeks shy of starting his junior year at Archbishop Stepinac High School, was hit while riding a scooter near his home on McLean Avenue.
Friends, classmates and family packed the courtroom.
Dolan was arrested the day after the crash at work.
"Stephen Dolan you were given a plea deal of one and a half to four and a half years and we were given a life sentence without C.J. Our holidays, birthdays, family gatherings will never be the same. There will always be a missing piece in our family," said Michelle Kern, C.J.'s aunt.
We were given a life sentence without C.J.Michelle Kern, C.J.
"I've been thinking about this day for a long time, thinking of what I could say to express how sorry I am and how ashamed I feel. But the truth is there is nothing that I could say that would make up for the pain that I've caused. I deserve to live with this. I deserve to live with the fact that I've broken the hearts of so many people," Dolan said.
I deserve to live with this. I deserve to live with the fact that I've broken the hearts of so many people.Stephen Dolan
The family said that the apology rang hollow to them, and they only take solace in the fact that C.J.'s donated organs saved the lives of 11 people.
The Westchester County District Attorney's office released a statement on the sentencing saying,
"The Westchester County District Attorney's Office has remained committed to seeking justice for C.J. Hackett and his family. We consistently recommended to the Court that the defendant receive the maximum sentence under the law of two and one-third to seven years in state prison for the vehicular manslaughter of the 16-year-old Stepinac High School student.
"While we are disappointed that the Court's promised sentence today will not reflect our recommendation, the defendant, Stephen Dolan, is going to prison.
"Our thoughts remain with the Hackett family and the Yonkers and Stepinac communities."
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