New Year's Drunk Driver Sentenced for Killing Salem Native

A Lawrence, Mass., man has pleaded guilty to motor vehicle homicide while intoxicated and related charges for killing a Salem High School graduate during a New Year's Eve crash that the man caused after drinking at least 15 beers, according to the Eagle-Tribune.

Mikhael Sarkis, 51, caused a head-on crash in Salisbury, Mass., just before midnight on Dec. 31, 2012. Sarkis was charged in connection to the death of his longtime girlfriend, Donna Bergeron, 41, who was in the passenger seat of Sarkis' car at the time of the crash.

Bergeron was a East Hampstead resident, but she grew up in Salem. Her obituary states that she "loved life and her smile and laughter could light up any room."

The Eagle-Tribune has reported that a remorseful Sarkis was sentenced in Salem (Mass.) Superior Court on Wednesday to 2 1/2 years in state prison and five years probation, which is far less severe than the maximums allowed by state law for Sarkis' various charges. Bergeron's family wrote a letter to the judge, reportedly stating that no punishment "could be worse than what the defendant is going through now," according to the paper.



[Read the full Eagle-Tribune story here.]