Left: Claire Zisserson and Kendall Zemotel before the 2019 crash. Right: Gregory Goodsell appears in court to hear his sentence.
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 was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole on Thursday morning.
Gregory Goodsell, 36, was found guilty last week on all charges in the crash that killed Claire Zisserson, who was just shy of her 14th birthday, according to the Plymouth County District Attorney's Office. The charges are second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter (under the influence), leaving the scene property damage and operating under the influence causing serious bodily injury.
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Goodsell was charged with manslaughter while operating under the influence after acknowledging to police that he had been drinking and taking cocaine at a Christmas party thrown by his boss. The Dec. 29 crash left Elizabeth Zisserson, Claire's mother, as well as her friend Kendall Zemotel, who was also 13 at the time, hospitalized.
The judge sentenced Goodsell to life with the possibility of parole in 20 years on the murder charge. He was also sentenced to serve a concurrent 12-year sentence for the manslaughter charge, as well as eight years from and after the murder sentence, for operating under the influence causing serious bodily injury to Kendall, six years from and after the murder sentence, for operating under the influence causing serious bodily injury to Elizabeth Zisserson, and five years probation for leaving the scene of property damage.
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The judge also set probation conditions which include no contact with either of the families, a substance abuse and mental health evaluation, no use of alcohol and drugs, random urine testing, and he will not be permitted to drive or apply for a new driver's license in Massachusetts or any other jurisdiction.
Prosecutors described the injuries to Elizabeth Zisserson, who was driving the Subaru, and Kendall Zemotel, who was in the backseat with Claire, as catastrophic. All three of the Subaru's occupants were rushed to South Shore Hospital, and the two teenagers were taken to Boston Children's Hospital.
At his sentencing hearing, Claire's loved ones shared victim impact statements. Elizabeth Zisserson was the first, saying that her world has changed forever and she is not the person she once was before losing her daughter.
"I function in survival mode, ruled by loss, fear and grief. The car crash destroyed my life and caused a ripple effect of damage that can never be undone," she said.
"As a family, we cling together to stay afloat. Our table of four is now three, our house is quiet as a tomb."
She added that she regrets being unable to protect Claire and Kendall, but she hopes to see Goodsell put away to prevent him from hurting anyone else.
Kendall, who testified during the trial, provided a written statement that was read by prosecutors.
"Not only did I lose my best friend but I lost a part of myself that day that I will never get back," she said, describing her trauma and how it still impacts her. Kendall spent months in the hospital recovering from her severe injuries after the crash.
Others, including Claire's brother, grandfather, friend, aunt, uncle, cousin, and Kendall's parents, also spoke in court.
Goodsell was behind the wheel of a pickup truck that hit Elizabeth Zisserson's Subaru on Route 139 at Church and Oak streets at about 6:50 a.m., officials have said. He had a blood alcohol content level of 0.266, well above the legal limit, and had sped through a red light at 67 mph before hitting the Subaru.
Investigators found whiskey, a beer can, nip bottles and marijuana inside Goodsell's truck.
Goodsell also spoke as the sentencing hearing, expressing his remorse for his actions.
"I shamefully take responsibly for my actions and can hold nobody accountable except for myself," he told the court.
The Zissersons were from Plymouth, where a vigil was held on what would have been Claire's 14th birthday, a week after the crash.
The crash brought scrutiny on Hi-Way Safety Systems, a highway contractor that fired Goodsell after the crash and which owned the pickup truck he'd been driving.
Goodsell allegedly acknowledged to police that he was severely impaired. Prosecutors said he told officers at the scene of the crash, "I know I shouldn't have been driving, I can't believe I did this. I drank way too much, I'm so sorry."
Smelling of alcohol, Goodsell also admitted to having taken cocaine at the company Christmas party he was coming from, prosecutors said in court. They added that witnesses said he was speeding before the crash, with one saying he passed them at about 90 mph, "the speed of lightning," in a no-passing zone.
Hi-Way Safety Systems has said it fired Goodsell, both because of the crash and repeated company violations: "unauthorized use of a company vehicle for personal use during non-work hours on the evening of December 28th and possession of alcohol in the vehicle."
Prosecutors said Goodsell had an extensive driving history involving 35 incidents, including a previous accident that led to reckless operation, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct charges.
At the vigil at Brewster Gardens in Plymouth, friends and loved ones remembered Claire Zisserson, who went to Rising Tide Charter Public School
Elizabeth Zisseron described her daughter in a statement to NBC10 Boston as a “bright, kind and caring girl with a beautiful heart…. She loved her family, her friends and her teammates. She was a ray of sunshine."
