Gregory Goodsell is sentenced – NBC Boston

The driver accused of killing a 13-year-old girl and seriously injuring her mother and a classmate in Pembroke, Massachusetts, in late December 2019 is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday morning.

According to the Plymouth County District Attorney's Office, Gregory Goodsell was found guilty last week on all charges in the crash that killed Claire Zisserson, who was about to turn 14. His sentencing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Thursday and numerous people are expected to give victim impact statements.

Goodsell was charged with involuntary manslaughter while operating under the influence after admitting to police that he drank alcohol and did cocaine at a Christmas party hosted by his boss. The Dec. 29 accident resulted in Elizabeth Zisserson, Claire's mother, being hospitalized as well as her friend Kendall Zemotel, who was also 13 at the time.

Prosecutors called the injuries to Elizabeth Zisserson, who was driving the Subaru, and Kendall Zemotel, who was in the backseat next to Claire, catastrophic. All three occupants of the Subaru were taken to South Shore Hospital and the two teenagers were taken to Boston Children's Hospital.

After deliberating for 10 hours, the jury found Goodsell, now 36, guilty of second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter (under the influence of alcohol), leaving the scene of a crime and driving under the influence of alcohol causing serious bodily injury.

Goodsell was behind the wheel of a pickup truck that struck Elizabeth Zisserson's Subaru about 6:50 a.m. on Route 139 at Church and Oak streets, officials said. He had a blood alcohol level of .266, well above the legal limit, and had run a red light at 67 miles per hour before hitting the Subaru.

Investigators found whiskey, a beer can, nip bottles and marijuana in Goodsell's truck.

The Zissersons came from Plymouth, where a vigil was held on Claire's 14th birthday a week after the crash.

Friends, family and complete strangers gathered in Plymouth on Sunday to remember Claire Zisserson, a 13-year-old girl who was killed by a suspected drunk driver last weekend.

The accident drew scrutiny from Hi-Way Safety Systems, a road construction company that fired Goodsell after the accident and which owned the pickup truck he was driving.

Goodsell allegedly admitted to police that he was severely impaired. Prosecutors said he told officers at the scene: “I know I shouldn't have been driving, I can't believe I did that.” I drank way too much, I’m so sorry.”

Goodsell smelled of alcohol and also admitted to doing cocaine at the company Christmas party he came from, prosecutors said in court. They added that witnesses said he was speeding before the accident, with one saying he passed them at about 90 miles per hour, “lightning speed,” in a no-passing zone.

The family of a 13-year-old girl who was seriously injured Sunday in Pembroke, Massachusetts, when a suspected drunken driver plowed into the car she was in says they continue to fight for her life.

Hi-Way Safety Systems said it fired Goodsell both because of the accident and because of the company's repeated violations: “unauthorized use of a company vehicle for personal use outside of work hours on the evening of Dec. 28 and possession of alcohol in the vehicle.” “”

Prosecutors said Goodsell had an extensive driving history with 35 incidents, including a previous accident that resulted in reckless driving, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct charges.

At the vigil at Brewster Gardens in Plymouth, friends and family remembered Claire Zisserson, who attended Rising Tide Charter Public School

Elizabeth Zisseron described her daughter as a “bright, kind and caring girl with a beautiful heart…” in a statement to NBC10 Boston. She loved her family, her friends and her teammates. She was a ray of sunshine.