Man Found Guilty of Manslaugher Under New Mass. Drunk Driving Statute

A Charlestown, Mass. man has been found guilty of manslaughter by motor vehicle and other charges in the death of a 16-year-old girl last year.

Twenty-nine-year-old Robert Getz was sentenced to five years in prison on the charge of manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol. Krystyl Poirier of Everett was killed in April 2006 when Getz’s car struck the one in which she was a passenger.

A spokesman for the Middlesex District Attorney’s office says it’s the first guilty verdict in a trial under the new charge included in Melanie’s Law. The 2005 law toughened penalties for drunken driving. A Bristol County defendant pleaded guilty to the new charge in an earlier case.

Getz faces sentencing October 22 on the lesser charges including motor vehicle homicide, operating under the influence and operating under the influence causing serious bodily injury.

Latest Comments

• September 21, 2007 at 1:10 am

  Little Frog says:

  You mean it was previously not against the law to drive drunk resulting in the death of a young woman? Oh wait; I forgot they had the Kennedy defense.
• September 21, 2007 at 8:30 am

  Dawn says:

  She even testified on his behalf, and so did her family. If he'd actually had sex with her he wouldn't have done this much time. He was 17 she was 15. And he wasn't the only o... read more
• September 20, 2007 at 3:54 am

  Nebraskan says:

  DUI is a corrupt system...and while i agree that there should be tougher penalties for it, at least this is a step in the right direction.