Woman gets less than 3 years for drunken hit-and-run crash that killed teenager
A woman charged in a deadly hit-and-run crash in Bloomington in January was sentenced to less than three years in prison on Tuesday afternoon.
Mikala Ness, 28, of Oakdale had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of vehicular homicide and one count of criminal vehicular operation.
One of the teens she hit died and the other is still suffering from injuries she sustained in the crash.
The mother of the victim, Marsha Fugett, shared a tearful statement describing life without her son before the sentencing.
The victim’s mom told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS the sentencing length is not nearly enough.
“You robbed us of everything,” Fugget said.
About eight months ago, Fugget saw her 17-year-old son, Donald Gayton Jr., for the last time.
“The last image I have of my son is him laying on a concrete with his brain on the concrete,” she said. “I knew that day my son was not coming home.”
Donald Gayton Jr. and his 14-year-old sister, Tamya “Mya” Gayton, were walking along 12th Avenue South in Bloomington when they were hit by a drunk driver.
Donald Gayton Jr. died from his injuries and his sister survived.
“I’m hanging in there the best I can,” Mya Gayton said.
The accident changed her life forever and the now-15-year-old has a handful of surgeries ahead.
“She suffers from memory loss. She can’t remember if she ate dinner yesterday, let alone did her homework,” Fugget said.
On Tuesday afternoon, a judge sentenced Ness to 32 months in prison for hitting the two teens.
The mother of the victim explained the sentencing didn’t give her closure. The family is finding other ways to move forward in his memory.
“I talked him into joining the Army and going to college. We wanted to do it together, but I decided to do it for him,” Mya Gayton said.
Donald Gayton Jr.’s brothers plan to open a mechanic shop in his name because he didn’t get the chance to do it himself.
The victim’s mom said her son may be gone, but he’s always close by.
“When it rains, him and God are up there laughing. Every time it thunders, they’re up there bowling,” she said. “I just hope my son’s bringing joy to everybody upstairs that he brought to us.”