BY MICHAEL D. CLARK
The Cincinnati Enquirer
![[heitfield]](/editions/1998/11/13/heitfield_160x142.jpg)
John Maluke, father of crash victim Jennifer Zimmer, shakes hands with driver Christopher Heitfield.
(Michael Snyder photo)
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LEBANON - No one standing before a Warren County judge Thursday wanted Christopher Heitfield to go to jail for causing the death of two teen-age girls.
As expected, the attorney for 19-year-old Mr. Heitfield argued Thursday that his client took full responsibility for the January car crash, had no criminal record and was extremely remorseful.
Attorney Kevin Thornton asked Judge Dallas Powers to spare the young man jail time.
But when Judge Powers asked prosecuting attorneys for an opinion, they offered up a rare agreement with their defense counterparts - all with the blessing of the two girls' families.
The resulting sentence - 1,000 hours of community service, five years' probation, $2,000 in fines and restricted driving privileges - prompted no celebration among the victims' families but did give some the justice they had sought for Mr. Heitfield.
"You hate to see three lives destroyed. He's a close friend of the family and it's time for Chris to get about his life," said John Maluke, father of 17-year-old Jennifer Zimmer, who died in the crash of Mr. Heitfield's pickup.
Jennifer, who was a passenger in the truck when Mr. Heitfield plowed into another vehicle on Ohio 48, died along with another friend, Victoria McCoy, also 17.
Last month Mr. Heitfield pleaded no contest to two counts of vehicular homicide, saying he did so in order to spare the girls' families the pain of going through a trial.
Before Thursday's sentencing, Mr. Maluke told Judge Powers that though Mr. Heitfield was speeding on a rain-soaked road, the resulting accident had not happened "maliciously."
"It was very unfortunate. But he has been suffering like the rest of us," said Mr. Maluke.
Though the family of Victoria McCoy did not testify, prosecuting attorneys told the judge that her family also did not want to see Mr. Heitfield go to jail.
Judge Powers cited Mr. Heitfield's lack of a criminal record, his good student status and his display of remorse in making his sentence.
"The accident would not have happened if you had not been speeding. But there's nothing we can do to bring back the two teens . . . ," said Judge Powers.
Another passenger, Lindsay Pennington, now 17, survived the accident with a broken pelvic bone and head injuries. The driver of the other vehicle, Fred Mershad, a Dayton resident and CEO of Elder-Beerman department stores, suffered a shattered ankle.
Police said Mr. Heitfield had been driving 66 mph in a 55 mph zone under rainy conditions. The four in his pickup, all from Lebanon, were ejected from the truck. The collision was so violent, the truck's cab was separated from the frame. Its transmission was left in the middle of the road.
Mr. Heitfield, who could have been sentenced to a year in jail, declined to comment.
![[heitfield]](/editions/1998/11/13/heitfield_500x444.jpg)