Man gets life sentence with chance of parole in 2019 crash that killed 13-year-old girl

A judge on Thursday sentenced a Marshfield man to life in prison with the possibility of parole for driving drunk in a 2019 crash that killed a 13-year-old girl, according to a statement from the Plymouth County District Attorney.

A jury found 36-year-old Gregory Goodsell guilty of second-degree murder, driving under the influence and criminal damage to property, court documents said.

Judge Diane Freniere sentenced Goodsell to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years, followed by an eight-year sentence for seriously injuring 13-year-old Kendall Zemotel, a passenger in the car. Because Goodsell was held during the nearly five-year trial, court documents showed he received credit for those years. He must serve at least 23 years in prison before being eligible for parole.

The facts about the crash

The prosecutor said Goodsell left a company Christmas party for his employer, Hi-Way Safety Systems, on Dec. 29, 2019. Prosecutors said Goodsell was drunk and high before he got behind the wheel. He was driving on Route 139 in Pembroke when he collided with a car with three people inside, the prosecutor said. Elizabeth Zisserson, 50, was driving her daughter Claire, 13, and Claire's friend Kendall Zemotel, also 13, according to the indictment.

Pembroke police said they responded to the accident around 6:50 a.m. and took all three victims to South Shore Hospital. First responders later took the two teens to Boston Children's Hospital, where Claire died from her injuries, the statement said.

The prosecutor said police found various containers of alcohol in Goodsell's car at the time of the crash. Police also found marijuana and a pipe. Additionally, Goodsell was under the influence of cocaine during the accident, prosecutors said.

“Every decision has consequences, and if Gregory Goodsell had made several different decisions that fateful night, Claire would still be with us today,” Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz said in a statement reported by The Boston Globe. “I hope that these two families and everyone whose lives were devastated by this terrible accident can recover a little and feel some sense of closure with this sentencing.”

Goodsell's representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.