P.E.I. truck driver sentenced for crash that left man paralyzed

A truck driver from Stratford, P.E.I. has beensentenced to six months in a Maine jail for a serious collision that left another driver paralyzed.

Dario Dosen, 49, pleaded guilty to aggravated driving to endangerin a court in Bangor, Maine Tuesday.

Dosen was driving a tractor-trailer north on Interstate 95 onAug. 23, 2016 in Hampden, Maine, when he forcedanother vehicle off the road while trying to turn around.

• P.E.I. truck driver indicted for driving to endanger in Maine

Marianne Lynch, assistant district attorney forPenobscotCounty, Maine told CBC News, that Dosenbraked in a 70 mile/hr zone to make a turn in a turnaroundarea designated for authorized vehicles only, and when his truck made the turn, it straddled both driving and passing lanes.

Other driver swerved to avoid crash

Lynch said that according to eyewitnesses, an SUV was following at a safe distance, but the driver was forced to swerve out of the way to avoid a collision.

The SUV struck a guardrail and the driver, a man in his early 30s, was ejected from his vehicle.

Police shut down the highway for several hours to complete their investigation.

Lynch saidDosen co-operated fully with police.

"As soon as he realized he hadcaused this, he did stop his vehicle. He did not try to evade or elude anybody. He realized right away what had happened and that he had caused it," she said.

Blood tests found Dosenwas not under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

'He never saw the SUV'

Dosen'slawyer, Jon Haddow, told CBC News that the judge hearing the case Tuesday also took into consideration that theSUV driver was determined to be going about nine miles an hour over the limit, and that his vehicle inspection sticker had expired.

Haddow said his client had missed his highway exit and didn't know he wasn't allowed to use the turnaround area.

"He never saw the SUV until after it had crashed," said Haddow, adding that Dosen expressed remorse immediately. "The very first thing he asked me was 'How is the driver doing?'"

'Like driving a missile'

Lynch says the I-95 does have a lot of truck traffic and most drivers are highly trained and professional.

However when an 18-wheeler is involved, any collision is bound to have serious implications, said Lynch.

"Driving a commercial truck on the highway is like driving a missile," said Lynch.

The driver of the SUV "suffered a broken back, pelvis, punctured lung and significant head injury," she said, leaving him paralyzed.

Lynch said the driverspent weeks in a hospital in Boston, needed reconstructive surgery, and is still getting rehabilitation.

Driver's injuries permanent

The injured man is back in Maine now, said Lynch, but thefamily is living in a hotel while their home is retrofitted to make it accessible. "These arelife-long injuries that he has sustained."

Because Dosen has been in custody since the crash, the court considered hissentence served as ofTuesday and he was released from jail.

"He isrelieved that it's over butsaddened about the whole situation," saidHaddow, adding thatDosenplanned to return to P.E.I. to be reunited with his family and hopes to return to work.

Dosenwasin Canada on a work permit, said his lawyer, and isn't sure how his criminal record in the U.S. will affect that.

In addition to the jail time,Dosenwas fined $500 and won't be allowed to drive in Maine for two years.

• MORE P.E.I. NEWS | Man sentenced for ramming truck into Charlottetown police cruisers
• MORE P.E.I. NEWS | P.E.I. Mi'kmaq file court challenge over Mill River land sale