York County District Attorney Kathryn Slattery this week touted the sentencing of a Maine man convicted of manslaughter in connection to a January 2021 fatal crash on the Maine Turnpike.
District Attorney Slattery’s announcement comes over five months after an illegal alien caused a car crash on I-95 in Wells this April that left a Maine woman dead and her husband in critical condition — a crash for which it appears no charges have yet been filed against the noncitizen.
David Herring, 42, a tractor-trailer driver formerly of South Portland, was sentenced on Sept. 13 to 10 years in prison, with all but five years suspended, following his conviction for two counts of manslaughter in connection with the deaths of Geoffrey and Elizabeth Gattis on the Maine Turnpike in January 2021.
According to Slattery, Herring was operating a tractor-trailer on the Maine Turnpike on Jan. 12, 2021, when he became distracted and ignored signs that warned of traffic delays.
Traveling at 57 miles per hour, he failed to stop for the slowed traffic and struck the Gattis’ vehicle which was traveling at three miles per hour, Slattery said. The Falmouth couple was killed in the crash.
“We are very sorry for the loss the Gattis family suffered,” said Slattery in a Wednesday press release. “Distracted driving is a serious problem in Maine and in this case resulted in a tragedy that could have been avoided.”
“We hope this sentence will raise awareness of the importance of paying attention to your surroundings and not to be distracted by phones or other devices while driving,” Slattery said. “We thank the Maine State Police, the Maine Computer Crimes Unit, and the Kittery Police Department for their thorough investigations.”
Just over 150 days ago, on the morning of April 26, 2024, police and emergency vehicles responded to a four-car pileup near Exit 20 on I-95 in Wells.
According to a Maine Department of Public Safety (DPS) statement at the time, an initial investigation found that 23-year-old Oguzhan Cildir caused the crash when he struck a minivan and a pickup truck while driving a Toyota Prius.
The driver of the pickup truck, 53-year-old Gloria Cascio of Albion, was pronounced dead at the scene. Her husband had to be transported to Maine Medical Center via helicopter in critical condition.
A law enforcement source familiar with the investigation said that witnesses on the scene reported that Cildir had been driving erratically, weaving in between cars, prior to the crash, and did not have a driver’s license at the time of his arrest.
[RELATED: After Three Months, Still No Charges for Illegal Alien Who Caused Car Crash That Killed Maine Woman…]
A U.S. Department of Homeland Security official told the Maine Wire that federal immigration authorities were contacted when Oguzhan Cildir was arrested at the scene of the accident because police found that he “had immigration status from when he crossed on the Southwest border.”
The arresting agency then reportedly turned the illegal alien over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement Removal Operations (ICE-ERO) for further processing.
Since the fatal April crash, the Maine Wire has repeatedly asked for updates from the Maine State Police and District Attorney Slattery regarding their investigation and whether Cildir has, or will ever be, charged in relation to the crash.
Maine Department of Public Safety Public Information Officer Shannon Moss informed the Maine Wire on Thursday that the Maine State Police’s reconstruction report on the April crash was finalized on Sept. 7.
Correction: An earlier version of this story indicated that the reconstruction report had been sent to the DA’s office. While the report has been finalized, it has not yet been received by the DA’s office.
[RELATED: Toxicology Questions Linger Over Illegal Alien Who Caused Car Crash That Killed Maine Woman…]
The Maine Wire has reached out to District Attorney Slattery, who has denied allegations from a law enforcement source who claimed her office is treating Cildir differently due to his immigration status, for information regarding any potential charges her office plans to pursue against Cildir.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="31200 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=31200">7 Comments
There are no rules for illegals. Thank you V.P. HARRIS
They also do not know were 30,000 illegal kids are!
This State and Country are messed up.
Vote for TRUMP
Another “ Judge “ who needs to find another job .
Minimum sentence for manslaughter should be 10-15 years.
It’s been my observations that people driving sober rarely if ever get prison sentences if they cause the death of another person. It never seemed right to me to use BAC as the determination of whether a driver goes free or goes to prison. Almost without exception the standard sentence for vehicular manslaughter (OUI or drugs) is 6 years for men and 5 years for women.
Personally I am all for executing OUI offenders… Driving Drunk is the same as shooting a gun into a crowd … Bangor Bill must be a Penobscot County ‘Wine Sack ” to believe otherwise .
Learn to read Sam Brady, Literacy Volunteers of Bangor (947-8451) might be able to help improve your reading comprehension. Nowhere did I condone drinking and driving but I did take exception to sober drivers that take a life generally not being sent to prison. Sorry if that confused you.