The driver of a wrong-way crash in March was in court Monday afternoon to learn his sentence after pleading guilty.
It happened March 19 on the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway at the West 45th Street exit.
A mother, daughter and grandmother had just finished shopping and were heading home when their lives changed in an instant.
The man who hit them, 50-year-old Frazier Sims, was sentenced to two years in jail Monday for hitting their car head on.
"The nightmare was only beginning and still hasn't ended for us," said Jennifer Banasik. She was driving the vehicle that Sims hit.
Banasik and her mother, Karen Waltermire were pinned in the front seat. Her 17-year-old daughter was not seriously injured.
"Every time I get in the driver's seat, I am reminded of that day," Banasik told Cuyahoga County Judge Timothy McCormick during the victim impact statement.
Waltermire was the most seriously hurt in the crash undergoing surgery and rehabilitation but still has a hard time walking on her own. "I am so thankful to the woman who came over and held my hand," Waltermire said, explaining how she felt as she waited for the ambulance on that day.
Frazier apologized to the family in court today. "I am now prepared to face the consequences," he told the judge. "This event has changed me," Sims added.
Sims is a former teacher, had no criminal record according to the court. He told the judge he had no recollection where he was before the accident and admitted to being drunk behind the wheel.
