PLYMOUTH – On Monday, a Halifax man, Paul A. Ledwell, Jr., 30, changed his plea in Plymouth Superior Court from “Not Guilty” to “Guilty” on two charges, one count of driving under the influence of a Class A substance (Carfentanil) while causing serious bodily injury and one count of possession of a Class B substance (marijuana).

The charges stem from a head-on collision that occurred between a Kingston woman, Elizabeth Runnals, and Ledwell on Route 80 in front of the Sacred Heart Elementary School on June 16, 2017.

Ledwell will serve 18 months of a two-and-a-half year sentence in the Plymouth County House of Correction followed by four years of probation for the crime. On the possession of a Class B substance charge, marijuana, he will serve one year of probation concurrently.

The clean-cut young man did not look as if he knew he was about to be taken into custody; he could have easily been mistaken for a lawyer in his sharp suit in the lobby before the hearing. Runnals was present as well, in a leg-brace and a wheelchair.

Judge Gregg Pasquale presided over the hearing, which was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Alexander Zane. Kevin Reddington, a Brockton-based defense attorney, represented Ledwell.

Family members and friends of both the defendant and the victim were present during the emotional proceedings.

Pasquale spent some time ascertaining whether Ledwell understood the implications of what he was doing.  A construction worker and the father of several children, was choked-up and inaudible at the beginning of the allocution, as he was asked a series of questions and given warnings to make sure he knew he was giving up his right to a trial by judge or jury and that he was giving up rights to appeals.

Ledwell flushed red, sometimes rushing the judge by saying, “Yes,” or “Yes, your honor,” quite quickly throughout the questioning by the judge.

When asked what he was doing there in court, he paused for a long time and said simply, “I am taking a plea.”

Next, ADA Zane, recounted in graphic detail the facts of the crime. Between his account and police records in court files, a picture of the treacherous pursuit of a drugged man by a civilian spanning half-a-dozen miles across two towns followed by a horrific head-on crash, along with the stories of heroic first responders emerged.

One report stated that at 4:56 p.m. on July 16, 2017, Colin Chromy, a Kingston man, called 911, indicating he was behind a black Ford Explorer and that it was all over the road on Bishop’s Highway (Rt. 80). Chromy, a Kingston carpenter, said in a later interview that he had followed the vehicle from Old Farm Lane in Plympton and saw it almost hit several other vehicles in a chase that spanned two towns with speeds reaching up to 90 mph.

While on the phone with 911, Chromy saw the Ford Explorer, later identified as  being driven by Ledwell, cross the double yellow line and collide head-on with a red Chrysler PT Cruiser, operated by Runnals.

“Both vehicles has [sic] heavy front end damage and it was clear that the Ford Explorer was in the wrong lane of travel,” said the report. “The operator of the vehicle that was struck by the Explorer was identified as an Elizabeth Runnals. Officer Fuller jumped into the back seat and kept her head and neck straight so as not to prevent [sic] further damage to the area. Elizabeth was clearly pinned in the vehicle and was in an extreme amount of pain. She was moaning and yelling out in pain. Kingston Fire arrived on scene and had to use the jaws of life to mechanically remove Elizabeth from the vehicle.”

Runnals experienced injuries to her ribs, knee, ankle, toes, hip and she said doctors believe she will have permanent neurological damage. She uses a wheelchair for mobility most of the time.

Ledwell was also injured in the accident, though to a lesser extent, receiving injuries to his face and arms, say police reports. He was given Narcan after nodding out while firefighters were treating him and responded to it– angrily as often is the case when people are given Narcan and quickly come down from a high.

Zane emphasized that Narcan only has an effect on people who have taken opioids, and two bags of white powder were found in his vehicle, along with marijuana. Although the state lab had difficulty identifying the white powder found at first, it was eventually identified as Carfentanil, a veterinary tranquilizer commonly known to put elephants to sleep, noted Zane.

That he was driving “is honestly terrifying,” Zane said.

Zane stated that the accident had an emotional and financial impact on the family, who are self-employed, and that Ledwell showed a lack of remorse. He mentioned that Ledwell had several OUI’s and drug crimes, many of which he said had dispositions of “Not Guilty.”

At one point, Ledwell’s attorney, Reddington, became annoyed with Zane, and leapt up, asking to be heard during, “this filibuster.”

“This is piling on,” he said. He opposed Chromy providing a victim impact statement. “The 911-guy doesn’t have standing.”

The victim, Runnals, was allowed to give a victim impact statement, as was her husband Thomas, and two of her children, Sonya and Holly. Although the civilian who followed Ledwell was not allowed to give a statement, “under the statute,” according to Pasquale, the judge asked Chromy to rise in court and told him that he was a hero.

To Runnals, the judge said, “I understand this has been a difficult case for all involved…I hear you have been through a horrendous ordeal.”

Runnals then spoke emotionally of what she had been through during and after the accident.

“I’ve always been a healthy person,” she said, through tears. “I was just driving down the road, and my life flashed before my eyes.” She described multiple, painful surgeries and the emotional pain Ledwell had caused her. She said she hopes to walk again.

As for drugs, she said, “Just stay home if you want to do them.”

Her daughter Sonya told the court about her view of free will. “My mother wasn’t allowed free will that day.”

“She was less than a mile from home. She had nowhere to go,” she added.

Her daughter Holly described feeling guilty she lives farther away and said she keeps in touch with her mother by phone daily. She said her mother won’t tell her what she’s going though so as not to put a damper on her day.

“At the end of this process, it isn’t over for us,” she said.

Her husband, Thomas, spoke slowly and deliberately, almost stuttering at first. He said that he and his wife had been married 40 years and had worked every day together for 30 of them. “It bothers her tremendously she can’t help me,” he said, saying at one point he had lost 30 pounds doing all the extra work she used to do. “She’s an angel.”

Reddington addressed the court, noting that the victims’ impact statements were, “classy…not one angry word.”

He said that Ledwell is a decent man who has an addiction, and while not an excuse for his behavior, he has been doing incredibly well recently, despite a relapse six days after the accident, and was horrified to read reports of the accident.

He asked if his client could address the court, and Ledwell offered an apology to Runnals, although he never turned in her direction. “I’m very, very, very, very sorry…I’m not a monster,” he said.

He was then sentenced by Pasquale, who spent some time to explain his rationale, to three times the minimum sentence of six months in jail for the more serious charge and concurrent probation for the second. Although he said the conduct was abhorrent, he believed that Ledwell appeared to be truly remorseful.

Ledwell was then handcuffed and taken away by court officers to be transported to the House of Correction.

In the hallway outside the courtroom, Runnals and her husband said that they believed that justice had been served. Chromy added that he thought that Ledwell was sorry.

With former Democratic State Rep. Thomas Calter leaving Beacon Hill to serve as Kingston’s town administrator, a freshman representative will take his place. Democrat Kathy LaNatra, of Kingston will square off against Republican Joe Truschelli, of Plymouth for the 12^th Plymouth District seat.Both Truschelli and LaNatra have experience in municipal government.

LaNatra is the Vice-chairman of the Kingston Board of Selectmen and a trustee of the Affordable Housing Trust. She previously served as Recreation Commissioner for eight years and was also a member of the Community Preservation Committee. Outside of municipal government, Lanatra owned her own small retail business for 10 years and is a licensed realtor.

Truschelli is a town meeting representative in Plymouth and a veteran of the war in Iraq. He served in the Air Force for almost two decades, both as an enlisted NCO and as a commissioned officer. After his time in Iraq, Truschelli now serves at the Joint Force Headquarters for the Massachusetts National Guard as a public affairs officer.

Truschelli’s campaign touted his fiscal responsibility and transparency as a town meeting representative in Plymouth.“In his time as a town meeting representative he has worked with his colleagues to ensure the funding of our schools and first responders are protected and that we position the community to be ready for any fiscal challenge we may be faced with,” he said on his campaign website.

LaNatra’s campaign highlighted her experience as a small business owner and said her successes there will allow her to have a bipartisan approach when it comes to economic policy.

“Drawing on her success in business, Kathy will embrace a pragmatic approach to the most pressing issues in our community, according to her website. “As the structure of our economy changes and our property taxes increase, Kathy is committed to sustainable economic growth to reduce the tax burden on homeowners and create sustainable jobs.”

As far as policy, both candidates have expressed a desire to focus on local issues, rather than national issues. Both LaNatra and Truschelli have said they’d prioritize supporting local law enforcement, taking care of local veterans and facing the opioid crisis in the 12th Plymouth District communities. Plymouth Area Community Television held political forum on public access on Oct. 4, where both candidates spoke to these issues.

LaNatra said, “My husband Mike has served as a Kingston Police Officer for 12 years and was with the New York Police Department during the 9/11 terrorist attack and its aftermath. I understand firsthand the sacrifices of those who devote their lives to protecting our communities.”

She added that the state has a responsibility to properly fund public safety training and fund healthcare for work-related injuries. In the forum, Truschelli agreed that more funding is needed for first responders.  During the campaign he has also spoken of his work with the Baker-Polito administration on veterans’ issues. “Joe spearheaded programs focused on ending homelessness among veterans, veteran employment, and suicide prevention … He has been a tireless advocate working on behalf of our state’s veteran population.”

Where the two have publicly differed most, is on Question 1 of the statewide referendum on nurse to patient ratios. During the candidate forum, LaNatra expressed her support for Question 1, to limit the number of patients assigned to a registered nurse at a hospital.

LaNatra shared a story of a nurse who was attacked at an understaffed hospital and had no one to help him and the former nurse who had a patient die from complications with a pulled wisdom tooth. She said situations like these are why she is voting yes.

Truschelli is voting no, citing a concern for seniors potentially receiving less attention than they need. He said he has spoken with nurses and hospital administrators and would rather a middle ground solution be made.

PLYMOUTH – “Fake crutch!” called out a male voice from the back of the Superior Court courtroom as Justin Kilburn, 29, of Kingston, entered alone, assisted by a crutch under one arm at the Plymouth Trial Court Friday, Oct. 19. Kilburn has been indicted on vehicular manslaughter and several other charges, including OUI, in a deadly head-on collision on County Road (Route 106) in Plympton last May that police reports say killed Diane Giordani, 52, of Plympton.

About 10 family and friends of Giordani, including her husband and sister, were visibly and audibly upset during and after the status hearing, which has been delayed three times this past summer by court-appointed attorney Jack Atwood, a Plymouth-based defense lawyer, for reasons including a vacation and being stuck in traffic.

There was a heavy security presence–eight court officers–in the room during the extremely brief hearing. Lawyers took less than three minutes to exchange paperwork and conference with the judge. It seemed over before it had even started.

The case, labeled as “most complex” by the clerk’s office, is expected to take many months to work its way through the system, according to assistant district attorney Russell Eonas, who spoke in the hallway outside the Superior Court with family members and friends of Giordani.

The family and friends surrounded Eonas and peppered him with questions. Eonas took about 30 minutes to answer their individual concerns and explained the process going forward and various theories of prosecution. By the end of the conversation, emotions had subsided, and the group was calmly talking about the Red Sox game the previous night.

When asked if the explanations by the ADA had assuaged their concerns, Giordani’s sister said, “Russ is great,” as other family and friends nodded in agreement.

Michael Giordani, Diane’s husband, is especially upset that speed limits, currently a very controversial subject in Plympton, are being raised by MassDOT, including, he says, directly in front of the accident site, because signage around town is being replaced for free by the state.

He added, “I drive by [the crash site] every day on my way to work, and I cry every day…keep writing about it.”