Driver guilty in 2010 fatal Lynn crash

LYNN – A judge sentenced a former city man to a year in jail for causing the death of 23-year-old city resident Edward Ma in an explosive crash on the Lynnway in 2010.A jury of five women and three men Monday convicted Derek Gallien, 26, formerly of 1 Parkland Ave., Lynn and who now lives in Salem, of motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation. The jury found him responsible for charges of failure to stop/yield; and speeding.”I’m sorry but our son is lost, this could have been prevented,” Ma’s mother, Nancy Syvongsa-Ma, said in a victim-impact statement while fighting back tears Monday morning in Lynn District Court. “We’re never going to be able to see our son again. At least you will see your son again. What I want is to have my son back. We’ve been robbed of our happiness.”Gallien was the driver of a tow truck that rear-ended a Honda Civic at the intersection of Hanson Street and Lynnway at approximately 4:30 p.m. July 30, 2010. Both vehicles caught fire. Gallien, the Civic’s driver and a front-seat passenger in the car all escaped with minor injuries. Ma was trapped in the backseat of the Civic and was killed.Witnesses and experts for the prosecution told the court Gallien was traveling about 11 miles over the speed limit when he struck the Civic, which was stopped at a red light. According to a statement Gallien made to state police and which was played for the court, Gallien said he had been distracted by his onboard computer dispatch system and did not see the Civic until it was too late, and applied the brakes as the tow truck struck the Civic. The state medical examiner’s office determined Ma died of blunt trauma. Gallien did not take the stand, and defense attorney Peter Marano called no witnesses. He presented a joint opening and closing argument in court Monday morning. The jury returned before the lunch recess with a guilty verdict.Assistant District Attorney Mark Byron and Marano agreed the incident was a tragedy for both the Ma and the Gallien families.”This is most likely the worst encounter (Gallien) will ever have with the criminal justice system,” Byron said, noting Gallien had no criminal history and had only accrued a few speeding tickets.But Byron noted this didn’t change that the Ma family lost their son “in terrible circumstances.””What’s reprehensible in this case is the defendant’s utter failure to abide by the rules of the road,” Byron said. “In doing so, the consequence of that action was the death of a young man, and as the testimony and evidence showed, that death didn’t have to occur.”Byron recommended Gallien be sentenced to 2? years with 1 year to be served followed by a term of supervised probation and 15-year loss of his driver’s license.Marano told the court that the emotional distress his client has suffered due the accident is “far worse than a jail sentence.” He urged there be no jail sentence for what Marano said was “a mistake.” He urged the court to not consider retribution or revenge in sentencing, but consider “an outcome that makes, in some slight way, something worthwhile come out of this.”Marano requested Gallien be sentenced to 18 months in jail, suspended for five years, and that Gallien be required to complete community service where he speaks about the incident to schools and driver’s education programs.”A year in jail cannot bring Edward Ma back. One-hundred years in jail cannot bring Edward Ma back,” Marano said. “Justice is for rehabilitation, the betterment of community. I think this country has moved past where we seek to revenge all wrongs. I think the purpose of sending Gallien to jail doesn’t serve anybody.”Syvongsa-Ma asked the judge to accept the prosecution’s recommended sentence.”The sentence you’re asked to give him is very little compared to the life span that our son would have had,” Syvongsa-Ma said. “He was supposed to grow old and take care of us.”Lynn District Court Judge Stacey Fortes disputed Marano’s characterization of the incident as a mistake.”It wa