A man who was drunk while driving a Maserati at 134mph when he hit and killed a mother-of-two has been sentenced to 25-50 years in prison as he tearfully begged for the family’s forgiveness.
Gregory Allen Belkin, 44, sobbed uncontrollably as he spoke to the family of Rhonda Williams, 53, who died while driving home from work in her Subaru when Belkin’s 2014 Maserati rammed into her. The impact sent her car flying into a barrier fence.
‘This is not who I am,’ Belkin said through tears. ‘I’m so sorry,’ he said, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Williams, who was a financial planner, was pronounced dead at a local hospital near Bloomfield Township, Michigan, on January 24
Gregory Allen Belkin (pictured in court on Thursday, 44, who was drunk while driving a Maserati at 134mph when he hit and killed a mother-of-two has been sentenced to 25-50 years in prison as he tearfully begged for the family’s forgiveness
Belkin (pictured , 44, sobbed uncontrollably as he spoke to the family of Rhonda Williams, 53, who died while driving home from work in her Subaru when Belkin’s 2014 Maserati rammed into her. The impact sent her car flying into a barrier fence
Williams (right), who was a financial planner, was pronounced dead at a local hospital near Bloomfield Township, Michigan, on January 24. Belkin (left during arrest) pleaded no contest in July to charges of second-degree murder and operating while intoxicated causing death
Belkin, who is a former US Coast Guard member, pleaded no contest in July to charges of second-degree murder and operating while intoxicated causing death, according to the news outlet.
Oakland County Circuit Judge Denise Langford-Morris sentenced Belkin to 25-50 years in prison, saying: ‘I have not seen a drunken driving case that caused death that was this egregious – when I say I don’t know what you were thinking, I really don’t know what you were thinking.’
David Hutson, the Oakland County assistant prosecutor, said Belkin recorded a blood-alcohol level of 0.315 per cent at the scene of the crash.
That percentage was more than four times the legal limit in Michigan.
According to the Free Press, an electronic data recorder from the Maserati indicates that Belkin was traveling at a top speed of 140mph and seconds before he hit Williams, he was traveling at 134mph.
Shortly after the accident, police said Belkin ran around the scene laughing.
But Belkin’s lawyer said at the time that her client was misinterpreted and was only responding to the shock.
At the time of the crash, Belkin told police he had dropped his cell phone and was trying to pick it up just before his sports car (pictured after the crash) collided with the rear of Williams’s Subaru
Belkin was an employee of the US Coast Guard for 17 years. He’s pictured with the International Training Division as he works with a Ghanaian Sailor during a visit, board, search & seizure training in 2009 aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS Nashville
At the time, Belkin told police he had dropped his cell phone and was trying to pick it up just before the collision.
Police said Williams was driving at about 54mph, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Bloomfield Township Police Officer Scott Schuknecht wrote in his report: ‘Gregory said he looked down and looked up while driving, and the vehicle he hit was stopped on the road.
‘I reminded him the other driver was seriously injured and laughing was not appropriate.’
Police also smelled alcohol on Belkin’s breath at the scene and he failed several sobriety tests.
Belkin’s defense lawyer Deanna Kelley said she had seen footage from the night and had looked at the police reports, but Belkin was not actually laughing even though he appeared to be. She said that was just how he dealt with the shock.
‘People react differently in situations of shock,’ she said at the time. ‘His reaction was misinterpreted.
‘He knows he’ll have to live with this for the rest of his life … he knows the harm that was caused by his actions.’
Belkin’s lawyer said in May: ‘It’s a tragic event all the way around. My client won’t be able to make any statements but he does want the family to know he’s remorseful.’
Though police said Belkin, (pictured in May), was laughing and running around after the crash, Belkin’s lawyer said that was how he was dealing with the shock in the moment
Belkin’s lawyer said: ‘It’s a tragic event all the way around. My client won’t be able to make any statements but he does want the family to know he’s remorseful’
Belkin was an employee of the US Coast Guard for 17 years.
‘The Coast Guard is an organization committed to helping others and saving lives, and driving under the influence goes against our core values of honor, respect and devotion to duty,’ Captain Scott Lemasters, commander of Sector Detroit told the Detroit News in January.
Williams leaves behind a husband and two sons. Her sister, Rebecca Miller, spoke for the family at the sentencing.
‘She was kind and loving, larger than life,’ Miller said, according to the Free Press. ‘I think the biggest thing about Rhonda is she loved others.
‘The impact for me as her only sister is that she was my confidante, she was my advice giver, she was my prayer partner – and my calm voice,’ she said.
‘We went on trips together, we took walks and we played tennis. We just really were each other’s strength.’
Defense attorney Loren Dickstein asked the judge to sentence Belkin to a minimum of 15 years.
Dickstein said he does expect to file an appeal, noting that Belkin had been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder in 2009.