A trucker will spend five years in prison for a crash that killed a Falmouth couple more than three years ago.
Justice Richard Mullen on Sept. 13 sentenced David Herring, 42, formerly of South Portland to concurrent 10-year sentences with all but 5 years suspended, followed by 4 years of probation, for both counts of manslaughter, according to the York County district attorney’s office, which announced the sentence Tuesday.
Herring was driving a tractor-trailer north on Interstate 95, near the Kittery-York townline, on Jan. 12, 2021, when he became distracted and ignored signs warning of traffic delays, the prosecutor’s office said.
Traffic was slowed down in the area as police investigated a high-speed chase in the southbound lanes.
Ahead of him, Geoffrey Gattis, 68, was driving a 2014 Lexus RX230 with his wife, 68-year-old Elizabeth Gattis, behind a Freightliner tractor-trailer hauling large paper rolls driven by 40-year-old Lakhveer Gill of Brantford, Ontario.
When Herring failed to slow down, he rear-ended the Lexus, crushing it against the Freightliner.
Both Geoffrey and Elizabeth Gattis died at the scene.
The Portland Press Herald reported in March 2022, citing court documents, that Herring had been streaming a show on Netflix before the crash, though his attorney, Rob Andrews, denied it contributed to the crash.
“Distracted driving is a serious problem in Maine and in this case resulted in a tragedy that could have been avoided. We hope this sentence will raise awareness of the importance of paying attention to your surroundings and not to be distracted by phones or other devices while driving,” the York County district attorney’s office said in a statement.
Herring is being held at the Maine Correctional Center in Windham. He will be eligible for release on July 22, 2028, at the earliest, according to the Maine Department of Corrections.
