Lynn man sentenced in fatal crash

LYNN – A city man pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year in jail for driving drunk and causing a 2011 accident that killed a man and seriously injured the man’s girlfriend.”I’m very, very deeply sorry; I wish you would forgive me for everything I did,” the defendant, Gilberto Figueroa, told members of the victim’s friends and family Monday in Lynn District Court.Figueroa then began speaking in Spanish with the injured woman’s parents, a conversation that ended with the parties shaking hands.Figueroa, 49, of 20 Apple St., pleaded guilty Monday to motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation; and operating a motor vehicle under the influence of liquor causing serious bodily injury.Police responded to the intersection of Chatham Street and Western Avenue at approximately 1 a.m. Aug. 26, 2011 for a three-car motor vehicle accident with injuries.Officers found Oscar Martinez, 27, partially wedged in the backseat of the Honda he had been driving. Martinez was taken to Salem Hospital where he was pronounced dead.A female passenger in the Honda, now 28, was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital with fractures near her spine, ligament damage and brain hemorrhages, Essex Assistant District Attorney Aimee Conway told the court Monday.A witness saw the driver of the other occupied vehicle, a Nissan, get out and urinate on the car’s front tire. (The third vehicle involved was parked on the street.)Police identified Figueroa as the driver of the Nissan and reported that he showed signs of intoxication and said he had three rum and cola drinks and several pieces of pizza. Figueroa was taken to Union Hospital for treatment and found to have a .21 blood-alcohol content. An investigation revealed he was driving 49 miles per hour (mph); 19 mph above the 30 mph posted speed limit.Conway requested Figueroa be sentenced to 2? years in jail, with 18 months to be served and the balance suspended for five years. Conditions of post-release probation included GPS monitoring with six months’ home confinement and a home breath test, that Figueroa remain drug and alcohol free with random screens and undergo all mental-health treatment deemed necessary.”Clearly this is a situation that’s difficult and troubling for individuals on both sides,” Conway said. But she said the 18 months in custody would be “appropriate” for the charges – noting Figueroa had a record of driving infractions dating to 1987.Defense attorney Jill Gately requested a sentence of 2? years in a house of correction with 205 days to be served and 94 days credit, with the balance suspended for five years. Gately also requested the GPS and home-confinement condition be waived, explaining that Figueroa has a daughter with severe autism for whom he and his wife provide 24-hour care while each also works full-time.With the requested sentence, Figueroa would be held until the end of the school year and his wife could provide the necessary child care, Gately explained.The young woman injured in the accident declined to attend the plea. But her parents told the court Martinez had a child with their daughter and financially supported the child.”We don’t ask for more than what can be, but we ask for justice, since we need the necessary help for the child,” said Israel Macario, the woman’s father. Conway said multiple civil suits are also pending.Judge Albert Conlon said he believed Figueroa was remorseful. But Conlon said he couldn’t “fully accommodate Mr. Figueroa’s time schedule.””I cannot totally ignore, as sympathetic as I am to him and his family .. I cannot totally ignore his conduct that night,” Conlon said.He sentenced Figueroa to 2? years in a house of correction, one year to be served and 94 days’ credit. The balance will be suspended after five years of a supervised probation, including six months of a home breath test. Figueroa will also lose his driver’s license for 15 years.Figueroa accepted the sentence.