Parents of crash victim tell of heartache

By Linda Cicoira

     Heartbreaking letters from the parents of a young man killed in a fatal crash in early 2022 were read by the mother and father Thursday, in Accomack Circuit Court, telling of their indescribable loss, their faith in God, and their forgiveness for the responsible drunk driver.

      It was what Judge W. Revell Lewis III called the “most powerful experience” in his judicial career and caused people in the courtroom to cry, even those who did not know the victim, 19-year-old Julio Meneses Vazquez, of Onancock. The letters were read in Spanish and were interpreted to the court in English giving a double hit of emotion to the story.

     Just before being sentenced for involuntary manslaughter and DUI, the defendant, 33-year-old John Higgins O’Brien III, of Curratuck Road in Painter, said he was sorry for his “irresponsible decision” to drive that night and his “lack of self-control. I would trade my life for him to have his back,” he said of the victim.

     In accordance with a plea agreement, O’Brien was given a five-year suspended term for manslaughter and 12 months in jail for DUI. His driver’s license was revoked for a year. He was also ordered to complete the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program, be on good behavior for five years and be on supervised probation for three years. O’Brien was also fined $1,500. Two thirds of that will be suspended upon completion of the VASAP program. He was remanded to jail.

     “The night of the accident everything ended for me,” Vasquez’s mother cried. In the end, she said, “my heart does not have any hate. We will be praying for him,” she added referring to the defendant.

      “Life is unjust,” the victim’s father said. “As his parents, we always had in mind that our children would bury us … we thought that this was not going to happen to us.   Julio was a young man full of life … this is the biggest heartache we have every suffered. I hope that he (O’Brien) is truly remorseful. May God bless him and his family …”

     Commonwealth’s Attorney Spencer Morgan said the plea agreement was struck because there was a question about the chain of custody for O’Brien’s blood test, which showed him at an alcohol level of .19, when the legal limit is .08. The test was taken at a Norfolk hospital after the defendant was transferred there.  Morgan also said O’Brien was driving on Savageville Road, near Onancock, and veered into the path of Vasquez. However, an expert hired by O’Brien’s lawyer said that could not be proven.