Corinna teen to serve 30 days in fatal accident

BANGOR – A Corinna teenager was sentenced Friday in Penobscot County Superior Court to three years in prison with all but 30 days suspended for manslaughter.

Mark Belair II, 19, was driving 17-year-old classmate Savannah Warren to graduation rehearsal at Dexter Regional High School on June 3, 2002, when his 1999 Hyundai Accent left the road and struck a tree. Warren died of her injuries the next day at Eastern Maine Medical Center.

Justice Jeffrey Hjelm also sentenced Belair to four years’ probation and 500 hours of community service as part of a plea agreement reached with the Penobscot County District Attorney’s Office.

Belair, now a student at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, pleaded not guilty to manslaughter, driving to endanger and criminal speeding in December. On Friday, he pleaded guilty to the manslaughter charge. The remaining charges were dismissed, according to Gregory Campbell, assistant district attorney.

If he’d been convicted of manslaughter, Belair could have faced a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The accident occurred at 11:53 a.m. on Route 43, also known as the St. Albans Road, a short distance from the Somerset County line, according to accident reports.

Belair was traveling east when he lost control of his vehicle at the top of a steep hill. The car crossed the westbound lane, left the road, went airborne over a culvert and down a steep embankment before striking a tree broadside.

Warren, who was not wearing a seat belt, was thrown from the vehicle. Belair, who was wearing a seat belt, was able to escape from the vehicle before it burst into flames. He suffered arm and shoulder injuries, according to police reports.

Belair told police he was driving about 85 mph. Accident reconstructionists determined his speed was 87 mph. The posted speed limit is 50 mph.

Campbell called the case “unusual” in a phone interview after the sentencing. Belair had no record, cooperated immediately with police and showed great remorse over the accident, he said.

Warren’s parents also made an “eloquent pitch” that Belair serve little or no jail time, Campbell said.