Staff photos / Ed Runyan Randy Daff holds photos of his son, Jason Daff, at left and far right, who was killed in a March 3 crash in Springfield Township. His son Jaden Daff, 12, who is in a football uniform in the photo at right, suffered serious injuries in the crash. Angela Brown, the mother of his children, also died in the crash.

YOUNGSTOWN — Randy Daff of New Middletown, whose 15-year-old son, Jason Daff, was killed, along with his mother, Angela Brown, in a March 3 crash, said Tuesday the eight to 12 years Walter Bolt got for causing the deaths was not enough.

“He actually got away with murder. I mean he killed two people. He killed a 15-year-old boy and his mother,” Daff said. “He gets eight to 12 years.”

Another son, Jaden Daff, 12, also was seriously injured in the head-on Springfield Township crash and still has a long road to recovery ahead. Randy Daff said that son “has to fight years of operations” and lost his kidney and spleen as a result of the crash. A doctor told him he can never play sports again.

Mahoning County prosecutors asked for Bolt, 65, of Struthers, to get 19 to 23.5 years in prison for driving drunk and crossing the center line, forever changing the Daff family.

In discussing the case before announcing the sentence, Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judge R. Scott Krichbaum said his job is to follow sentencing laws, and the average sentence for similar crimes by similar offenders is about six years, though “every case is different, every defendant is different.”

He said he saw one defendant get as little as 10 days in jail for a death in a boating crash, and he saw a person get a sentence similar to what prosecutors were seeking for Bolt. But that type of sentence is generally for people who commit murder or aggravated murder, Krichbaum said. “That’s not what this is, even though deaths did occur.”

The two deaths in this case are “not a purposeful killing of another human being,” Krichbaum said. “Those (blameworthy) mental states (for murder) demand greater sentences.”

He said he “can’t even begin to imagine the profound effect upon the family of the victims, the friends of the victims, and likewise the family and friends of Mr. Bolt.”

He said, “Courts and laws are not designed to address” issues such as the “anger, agony and hurt” of the people left behind by tragedy. “That is why these cases have to be decided by the laws of the state of Ohio,” he said. “These matters have to be decided on a legal basis, not on an emotional basis.”

He said some of the factors he has to consider are the seriousness of the crimes and factors related to Bolt re-offending in the future.

Krichbaum said a presentence report of Bolt’s background states that Bolt had no prior criminal record. “Sixty-five years old, never been in trouble. He has led a law-abiding life and is a military veteran,” Krichbaum said.

“These are statutory factors, matters of law that the court is required to consider,” he said reading from a list of things that might increase or decrease Bolt’s sentence.

Showing genuine remorse is a factor that works in a defendant’s favor, Krichbaum said.

“That is a matter of opinion,” but he and Mahoning County Assistant Prosecutor Steve Maszczak both feel Bolt is “genuinely remorseful,” Krichbaum said, “maybe beyond that which I have witnessed in this court before.”

In remarks before sentencing, Maszczak said, “This case represents the most serious consequences of impaired driving,” adding “This family has suffered a devastating loss. At the same time, it is important to note that Mr. Bolt has accepted responsibility. He has not tried to minimize his conduct, and he has entered a plea as charged.”

After the sentencing, Mahoning County Prosecutor Lynn Maro issued a news release noting that Bolt pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated vehicular assault for the two deaths, both second-degree felonies, and one count of aggravated vehicular assault, a third-degree felony, for the injuries to Jaden Daff. Bolt also was convicted of operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse or a combination of them — OVI, a first-degree misdemeanor.

Bolt crashed his vehicle into Brown’s Honda Accord on state Route 170 at Unity Road in Springfield Township. Bolt’s blood alcohol level was .215, more than twice the legal limit to drive in Ohio. There were cans of alcohol in his vehicle at the time of the crash, the release states.