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Many states, the court noted, have a 5 nanogram limit for legal intoxication, above the 3.7 nanogram, level she had.Įmail: Deak is a reporter for.
The court also noted that "THC blood levels are generally considered a poor indicator of impairment" and traces of THC can be found in blood for days or weeks.
The appellate court wrote that Bucca's weighing of the factors was "an abuse of discretion" because it was not "supported by competent and credible evidence in the record." He affirmed the four-year sentence, saying "there is clearly an individual need to deter this defendant from further criminal activity.”Īmkhanitsky then appealed, which led to Tuesday's ruling. She told Bucca that she believed she didn't "belong in jail," began seeing a psychiatrist immediately after the crash and had enrolled in college where she was taking honors courses.īut Bucca criticized Amkhanitsky's statement, saying it was "all about her" and she failed to appreciate the harm that had been done. At that sentencing, Amkhanitsky admitted that because of her actions "an innocent man lost his life." She told the judge she had developed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after the crash and suffered from panic attacks whenever she was near a car. The judge noted he had an obligation "to send a strong and consistent message to the community at large, in an effort for general deterrence, that driving under the influence of any drug, is a very serious matter."Īmkhanitsky moved for reconsideration of her sentence which Bucca granted. Though Bucca agreed there were more mitigating factors than aggravating factors, Bucca said they did not "outweigh" the seriousness of the crime and did not warrant a downgrade to a probationary term. She said she wrote a letter of apology to Lockwood's family and said she prayed for them every day. She also said, "being sorry isn't going to bring anyone back or reverse time" and she was receiving medical treatment "to avoid this from ever happening again to anyone."
Amkhanitsky, admitted she was under the influence of marijuana at the time of the crash, and she understood the consequences of her actions. Court papers say police did not observe her to be under the influence of any substance and they did not give any field sobriety tests, though one officer smelled marijuana while standing next to her vehicle.Ī test revealed her blood contained 3.7 nanograms of THC, the main ingredient that produces the high of marijuana, which Robert Pandina, the retired director of the Center of Alcohol Studies at Rutgers, said caused her to be intoxicated.Īt her sentencing. She immediately called 911 and stayed at the scene. In a plea negotiation with the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, Amkhanitsky, who told police she took two hits of marijuana from a vape pen about four hours before the accident, pleaded guilty to third-degree vehicular homicide in exchange for a recommendation that she will be given a five-year jail term with an opportunity to argue for a lesser sentence.Ĭrime: Man robbed Franklin bank, fled on motorcycle: policeĪmkhanitsky, who was a high school senior at the time of the crash, was driving on a dark stretch of Route 34 and approaching a hill when she failed to see Lockwood crossing the road at about 7:30 p.m. After a blood test revealed the presence of marijuana, Amkhanitsky was charged with first-degree manslaughter, reckless vehicular homicide and aggravated assault.
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