WATERTOWN - A 30-year-old Weedsport mother will spend from one to three years in state prison for a fiery car crash that killed three of her children and her unborn baby after a northern New York police chase.
“It's been a hell that nobody can ever make better,” Lisa Parker said before her sentencing Monday in Jefferson County Court. “I don't know what happened ... my job was to protect my kids and I failed.”
Lisa Parker was charged with three counts of manslaughter and 13 other charges in the deaths of Mary Provo, 2, Nathaniel Parker, 6, and Tyler Parker, 10.
Under the terms of a plea deal, Parker did not admit guilt, but acknowledged there was enough evidence to convict her.
Parker has amnesia and can't remember details of the crash, said her lawyer, Peter Juliano. He also said Parker suffers from bipolar disorder and had a panic attack that caused her to flee from police.
Juliano asked Judge Kim Martusewicz for probation and no prison time for his client, who he said still grieves over the deaths.
The crash happened when Parker and three of her children were on a camping trip to Cape Vincent on Lake Ontario in July 2007.
Her boyfriend was following about 20 minutes behind in another car with Parker's other child when deputies pulled her over for driving erratically on a county highway. As the deputy got out of his car, she sped off. The deputy chased Parker, but backed off after getting her license plate number.
Minutes later, Parker hit a utility pole, severing the pole and splitting the car in two. She was thrown from the car. The children were found strapped in their seats inside the burning car. An autopsy determined they died on impact.
Parker was pregnant and her fetus did not survive. She suffered a crushed pelvis when she was thrown from the car.
According to the indictment, Parker was driving with a suspended license. The indictment also said Parker was driving 85 mph in a 35 mph zone.
Deborah Parker, the grandmother of the two boys, had harsh words for Parker during the sentencing.
“She never put her children first,” said Deborah Parker.
“How dare she put my grandsons' lives in that kind of danger ... She has flung my family into a nightmare we can't awaken from,” she said.
Lisa Parker was charged with three counts of manslaughter and 13 other charges in the deaths of Mary Provo, 2, Nathaniel Parker, 6, and Tyler Parker, 10.
Under the terms of a plea deal, Parker did not admit guilt, but acknowledged there was enough evidence to convict her.
Parker has amnesia and can't remember details of the crash, said her lawyer, Peter Juliano. He also said Parker suffers from bipolar disorder and had a panic attack that caused her to flee from police.
Juliano asked Judge Kim Martusewicz for probation and no prison time for his client, who he said still grieves over the deaths.
The crash happened when Parker and three of her children were on a camping trip to Cape Vincent on Lake Ontario in July 2007.
Her boyfriend was following about 20 minutes behind in another car with Parker's other child when deputies pulled her over for driving erratically on a county highway. As the deputy got out of his car, she sped off. The deputy chased Parker, but backed off after getting her license plate number.
Minutes later, Parker hit a utility pole, severing the pole and splitting the car in two. She was thrown from the car. The children were found strapped in their seats inside the burning car. An autopsy determined they died on impact.
Parker was pregnant and her fetus did not survive. She suffered a crushed pelvis when she was thrown from the car.
According to the indictment, Parker was driving with a suspended license. The indictment also said Parker was driving 85 mph in a 35 mph zone.
Deborah Parker, the grandmother of the two boys, had harsh words for Parker during the sentencing.
“She never put her children first,” said Deborah Parker.
“How dare she put my grandsons' lives in that kind of danger ... She has flung my family into a nightmare we can't awaken from,” she said.
Citizen
Hot Jobs
New! Off the Menu
The Citizens' Say
Post your comment - click hereThere are 5 comment(s)
pamnewyork wrote on Sep 9, 2008 1:40 PM:
interested wrote on Sep 9, 2008 9:04 AM:
doodles13021 wrote on Sep 9, 2008 8:35 AM:
tome8689 wrote on Sep 9, 2008 7:59 AM:
mark wrote on Sep 8, 2008 11:52 PM: