Trucker to plead guilty in turnpike death

AUGUSTA – A trucker who has become identified with efforts to curb habitual offenders in the state is expected to plead guilty to manslaughter stemming from a 2005 crash along the Maine Turnpike.

Scott Hewitt, 34, will enter the plea under an agreement that will be presented to Superior Court Justice Thomas Warren on Feb. 14, according to Hewitt’s lawyer and the prosecutor.

The former trucker from Caribou would be sentenced to 10 years in prison with all but 30 months suspended and four years of probation under the agreement.

Hewitt, who also faces lifetime revocation of his driver’s license, has been in jail since September 2005. In July of that year, his tractor-trailer slammed into a car at a construction stoppage along the turnpike. The crash killed Tina Turcotte, 40, of Scarborough, who was driving a car in front of Hewitt’s truck.

Hewitt had been driving on a suspended license at the time, and a blood test showed he had marijuana in his system. He had 63 prior driving convictions, more than 20 license suspensions and had been involved in a previous fatal accident.

The 2005 fatality prompted the Legislature to crack down on motorists with suspended licensees who refuse to stop driving.

Hewitt has already served about half of the unsuspended portion of the sentence that has been agreed to.

District Attorney Evert Fowle said the agreement ensures a significant penalty in a case that would have been difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt in a trial. Scott Turcotte, husband of Tina Turcotte, and Pat LaNigra, her mother, both agreed to terms of the agreement.

“We’re as happy as we can be,” LaNigra said. “We are never going to replace what we have lost, but we came to the conclusion that this was the best that we could do to keep this man off the road.”

Joel Vincent, attorney for Hewitt, said the agreement is in the best interests of both sides. By pleading guilty, Hewitt will show he recognizes the seriousness of his actions, said Vincent.

Legislation that became known as “Tina’s Law” was passed after Turcotte’s death to increase penalties for Maine’s worst repeat offenders. Under the new law, said Fowle, a conviction could have led to a sentence near the 10-year maximum.