A father tore into a drink driver who killed his teenage daughter and made many in a courtroom tear up by saying what he’s been forced to go through is ‘not natural’.
Ken Zisserman spoke about parting with his daughter Claire Zisserman, 13, who died in a 70mph crash in Pembroke, Massachusetts, caused by Gregory Goodsell, who was high on cocaine after a 2019 Christmas party.
‘It’s not natural to be handed a pen to sign a form approving your daughter as an organ donor,’ sobbed Ken, according to the Daily Mail.
‘It was a symbolic moment that all hope was lost and Claire was not coming home.
‘It’s not natural to watch your daughter’s last breaths, as the hospital slowly allowed her to pass away from her injuries.’
Her mother, Elizabeth Zisserson, also detailed her devastation, saying ‘the ache of Claire’s loss is overwhelming to me’.
‘After Claire died, I didn’t want to live,’ Elizabeth said, adding that her ‘world changed’.
‘I don’t recognize the person I am today, versus the one I used to be,’ she said.
‘I was a super-busy mom juggling sports, scouts, carpools, school projects, away games and everything else in daily life.’
Goodsell was under the influence of alcohol and cocaine as he ran a red light with his Ford F-250 and struck Claire’s Subaru.
He had a blood alcohol content of 0.266, which is over three times the legal limit of 0.08 in Minnesota.
Goodsell, 36, owned up to the crash and said he let himself ‘become completely vulnerable to any situation that arose’ at the party. He acknowledged that apologizing would not help with the victim’s family’s pain.
‘Because of my out-of-control mindset and chaotic behavior that entire night, a young lady with a bright future is no longer alive,’ he said tearfully.
‘Nobody should ever have to attempt to live through the pain that I’ve caused to all these people through my careless, destructive behavior.’
Despite saying that he would ‘die instead of Claire… in a heartbeat’ if he could go back in time, Goodsell’s words did not move Plymouth District Attorney Timothy Cruz.
‘The tears I want to deal with are the victims,’ Cruz told Boston 25News.
‘Every decision comes with a consequence, and if Gregory Goodsell had made several different choices that fateful night, Claire would still be with us today.’
Goodsell was hit with charges including second-degree murder and motor vehicle manslaughter while driving under the influence.
On Thursday, he was sentenced to life in prison, and will be eligible for parole after 28 years subtracting time he will have served.
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