NEWPORT — A 39-year-old man charged with negligent homicide last Spring after the dump truck he was driving struck a 34-year-old pedestrian will spend four months in jail under a plea deal that still needs a judge’s approval.
Charles Deraway, of Grantham, has entered an acknowledgment and waiver of rights that he intends to plead guilty to misdemeanor charges of vehicular assault and misdemeanor assault and serve four months in Sullivan County House of Corrections in Unity.
In exchange, prosecutors have agreed to drop or amend felony charges of negligent homicide and second-degree assault, according to court documents.
An acknowledgment of rights does not constitute a formal plea and the defendant or prosecutors can change their minds or amend the terms before the final plea and sentencing date is held.
Deraway’s hearing is set for Nov. 11.
Deraway was driving a dump truck eastbound on Central Street in downtown Newport shortly past noon on May 7 when he attempted to make a right turn onto Sunapee Street. He failed to come to a complete stop and yield to a man who was walking across Central Street at a designated crosswalk, according to police.
The pedestrian, Zachary Shepard, was dragged under the vehicle and “appeared to have serious bodily injury,” according to a police report prepared at the time. First responders transported him to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Deraway failed to come to a full stop at the stop sign and failed additionally to yield to the pedestrian in the crosswalk, police said following an investigation of the incident.
Under the plea agreement, which is subject to the court’s approval, Deraway will serve four months in county jail on the vehicular assault charge and receive a 12-month fully suspended sentence on the simple assault charge, according to court documents.
He will also be required to perform 100 hours of community service, have his commercial driver’s license suspended, and remain on good behavior for two years.
Citing the sentencing hearing in November, Neither Marc Hathaway, Deraway’s defense attorney, nor Sullivan County attorney Christine Hilliard, would comment on the terms of the plea agreement.
“I can understand what happened. I just have a hard time accepting what happened,” April Shepard, Zachary Shepard’s mother, said last week.
She said she was “not surprised” when she learned the charges against the driver were being reduced.
“If nothing else comes out of this, I hope Newport puts up stop signs at other intersections,” she said.
There were other victims of the tragedy that claimed her son’s life, April Shepard noted.
The playground of Richards School borders the site of the intersection and “the fifth graders were out at recess at the time.”
“They all witnessed this,” she said. “That’s one of the worst parts.”