Castle Rock – Before being handcuffed and led to juvenile jail Friday, 17-year-old Todd Stansfield wept and apologized for four deaths he caused in a horrific driving accident.
“I’m so sorry for all the pain and suffering the accident caused,” Stansfield said. “I know this has been stressful on victims’ families. I’m so sorry.”
The emotionally charged case drew much attention over the past 15 months. The courtroom was packed with supporters of Stansfield who hoped for a lenient sentence. Also in the courtroom were family members of victims who asked for a stricter sentence.
Douglas County District Judge Thom as Curry accepted Stansfield’s plea to two felony counts of criminally negligent homicide and terms that went with the plea, including a 90-day sentence to be served at the Marvin J. Foote Center in Arapahoe County. He was charged as an adult but sentenced to a jail for juveniles.
Stansfield was speeding in his 1990 Lexus sedan on Inspiration Drive in Douglas County on June 18, 2004, when he crossed over the center line and hit head-on a Chrysler driven by 77-year-old Marvin “Mike” Gilchrist.
Gilchrist was killed in the collision, along with three teenage passengers in Stansfield’s car: Michael Budge and Sean Student, both 17; and Tony Majestic, 16.
Ruby Bennett, Gilchrist’s sister, told the court that she and her brother were the lone surviving family members of their generation prior to the accident.
In a conversation just before his death, Gilchrist told his sister he had a lot of living to do, Bennett said.
There has been “so much heartache, so many broken hearts,” she said.
Karen Student, Sean’s mother, described her son’s battered body in a hospital bed and told the court of her family’s agonizing decision to take him off life support 10 hours after the accident.
“I held his hand as his life slipped away,” she said, crying.
Sherri Budge, Michael’s mother, who asked the court for leniency, told Stansfield he owes her nothing and that Michael treasured their friendship.
“Michael thought the world of you,” she said.
As part of the sentence, Stansfield will be on probation for 12 years and serve 1,200 hours of community service, including talking to teens about the dangers of reckless driving.
Stansfield suffered severe injuries in the crash but has since returned to school.
As part of the plea agreement, he will not be allowed to attend his high school graduation ceremony. He can’t drive or play organized sports until he turns 21.
Several reconstructions of the accident have been done, and Stansfield’s speed was estimated at 70 mph when he lost control of his car on a rain-slickened road. He was 16 and had had his license for 10 days at the time of the accident.
Stansfield has no recall of the accident because of a severe head injury. Still, the victims can’t escape his mind.
“I think about them every day,” he said.
Staff writer Kieran Nicholson can be reached at 303-820-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
