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Dayton Lee Cassel, 21, has already served 28 days at Lancaster County Prison for the Oct. 24 hit-and-run at West Lemon and Mary streets.
According to court documents filed by city police, Cassel ignored the instructions of a uniformed crossing guard and drove through a crosswalk, striking the 10-year-old boy, who was on his way to Wharton Elementary School. The victim has not been identified because of his age.
Investigators said a violin case carried by the young musician cushioned the impact and likely saved his life.
County Judge Howard F. Knisely ordered Cassel back to county prison for 4 to 23 months, even though the victim's family told the court they were "satisfied" with the time Cassel had already served and his work with a local victim-offender program.
The family also asked that charges be dropped, but a guilty plea had already been arranged, according to prior testimony.
Herbert Crystle, Cassel's attorney, asked Knisely that his client be sentenced only to probation and given credit for the time he served last year.
Crystle told Knisely further prison time would be too harsh, considering prosecutors' previous offer of 30 days' imprisonment in exchange for a guilty plea. Crystle said prosecutors later "reneged" on that deal when two of the charges against Cassel, including drunken driving, were dropped.
Crystle told the judge about Cassel's work with Lancaster Area Victim Offender Reconciliation Program, which included multiple meetings with the victim and his family. Cassel has volunteered to perform 20 hours of community service with the group, according to testimony.Assistant District Attorney Christine L. Wilson told Knisely the seriousness of the crime outweighs the defendant's reconciliation efforts.
"The young boy could have been killed instead of simply his violin case being destroyed," Wilson said. The boy stayed one night at Lancaster General Hospital but was not seriously injured.
The judge said several factors led to the prison sentence. Among them, Knisely said, was Cassel's disregard of the crossing guard.
"Your behavior that morning was out of control," Knisely said. "The young man is lucky to be alive, as are the others in that area when you went through at a high rate of speed."
Cassel's actions after striking the boy also were factored into the sentence, Knisely said.
Cassel sped off after hitting the boy, striking two vehicles before police nabbed him on Harrisburg Pike near Route 30, according to a police affidavit.
Then, while in a holding cell at Lancaster County Prison, Cassel damaged a sprinkler system, according to testimony.
"The behavior that commenced … is reprehensible," the judge said.
(540) (445) (408) (323) (174) (141) (42) (39) (31) (28) (26) (20) (8) (4) (3) (2) (2) (2)Cassel told Knisely the sprinkler damage was an "accident of boredom."
Concerning the accident, Cassel said he had just moved back from Florida and had been up all night.
He had traces of alcohol in his system due to drinking hours before, Cassel said at his April 8 guilty plea.
"I fell asleep at the wheel," he told the judge Monday.
Cassel pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor hit-and-run charges, reckless endangerment, institutional vandalism (for the sprinkler) and a pair of traffic violations.
He was sentenced to 4 to 23 months at Lancaster County Prison, followed by 2 years of probation.
The judge ordered Cassel to report to prison July 10 at 8 p.m.
E-mail: bhambright@lnpnews.com
