Horseman Dennis Marchand was killed in a 2007 car crash, and to this day, his wife, Pat Marchand, is still fighting for what she considers an appropriate penalty
for the now 19-year-old culprit.
“I’m not going to put up with it, I’m going to fight all I can fight,” she was quoted as saying in an article on mlive.com. “I have his ashes next to my bed, it’s all I have.”
The article states that Dennis Marchand was killed in December 2007 when a then-17-year-old, James Williamson, allegedly ran a stop sign and hit his pickup. The crash killed the 52-year-old trainer and one of the horses he was transporting.
Williamson’s attorney, Jeffrey Clothier, has requested that the court accept a plea deal where his client pleads guilty to manslaughter, but is sentenced as a Holmes Youthful Trainee so if he successfully completes probation the conviction will be removed from his record. Clothier has requested no jail time in Williamson’s sentencing.
Williamson is currently on bond in Florida, and the article states that he didn’t appear at his February arraignment. The report states that the teenager's driver’s license was restored in January 2009.
(With files from mlive.com)