Patricia Powell should have walked across the stage with her Ellet High School peers Sunday to get her diploma.
Instead, the teen’s family had flowers delivered to the commencement in her honor.
Powell, 17, was killed in March 2016 when she was struck by a drunken driver after her car broke down on Interstate 76.
Charles Queer, the driver who hit Powell, pleaded no contest Tuesday in Summit County Common Pleas Court and was found guilty of charges stemming from the March 27 crash. He will be sentenced July 26.
Family members of both Powell and Queer were in the courtroom Tuesday — the day Queer was scheduled to go on trial. Powell’s loved ones were disappointed in Queer’s no-contest pleas. They were hoping he would plead guilty.
“To me, it means something,” said Kate Grady, Powell’s aunt, who wore a necklace with one of Patricia’s fingerprints on one side and the teen’s name on the other. “I don’t find it as any remorse or taking responsibility.”
Michael Callahan, Queer’s attorney, said he pleaded no contest to two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and one count of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence at the advice of his attorneys in a wrongful-death lawsuit pending in Summit County Common Pleas Court.
Queer, 64, of Tallmadge, faces two to eight years in prison when he is sentenced by Judge Joy Oldfield. The judge ordered a pre-sentence investigation into Queer and a victim-impact statement.
Queer was driving east on I-76 when he struck Powell’s car, which was parked on the side of the road near Arlington Street. Powell was transported to Summa Akron City Hospital, where she later died.
Police said Queer had a blood-alcohol level of 0.204 percent, more than double Ohio’s legal driving limit of 0.08 percent.
Callahan said the crash has taken a toll on Queer, who is retired, and his family, as well as the Powell family.
“Nobody wins in a case like this,” Callahan said. “Everybody’s a loser.”
Grady said her family is pushing for the longest prison term possible.
“We hope he gets the maximum penalty, not just for how terrible this was, but also to prevent deaths like this,” Grady said.
In honor of what would have been Patricia’s graduation, Grady gave Kelly Grady, her sister and Patricia’s mother, a gift from the Ellet high school community of a binder full of letters from the teen’s classmates. She said they talked about her energy and positive attitude.
Grady said Patricia hoped one day to open a coffee shop and planned to attend Kent State University and major in psychology. She wrote about wanting to help underprivileged children in a school paper. Grady plans to give this paper to Oldfield to provide her with a glimpse of who Patricia was, who she might have become.
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705 or swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @swarsmithabj .