Life in prison for driver in police pursuit crash that killed 2 in Newport
An accused weapons dealer who ran over and killed a couple in their 80s enjoying dessert in Newport during a police pursuit last August was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday.
Mason Meyer, 28, pleaded guilty to two counts of murder, two counts of wanton endangerment, fleeing or evading police and criminal mischief in Octo
Meyer fled with two passengers from Cincinnati police when they attempted to stop him as part of a gun-trafficking investigation, officials said.
He crashed in Newport outside The Press restaurant killing Raymond Laible, 81, and his wife, Gayle Laible, 80, and wounding a younger couple with four children, Steven and Maribeth Klein.
The Liable’s family and the Kleins were in court on Tuesday.
Steven Klein said he was the one who chose Fifth Street for an evening walk with his wife that night.
”This haunts me every day,” he said.
More than a year after the crash, the Kleins are not fully recovered physically, let alone emotionally, they said.
”Death is sacred. It should be shared with loved ones,” Maribeth Klein told Meyer in court. “You took that away from them and gave it to us.”
She said still suffers from panic attacks and PTSD and immense guilt over the deaths of the Liables. Neither of the Kleins like to take walks anymore and they’ve been struggling to get back back to normal as they raised their children.
”Mason, you are everything I teach my kids not to be,” Steven Klein said.
The Liable’s daughter, Angela Endress, said she’s become close to the Kleins. In court on Tuesday, she turned to them and explained they shouldn’t feel guilty. She said if the choice was between her parents or them, her parents would have sacrificed themselves because they had enjoyed a long life and a great relationship.
”They were vibrant,” Endress said. “It’s the love story everybody wants.”
She said told Meyer she hopes he never sees the light of day and promised to be at every parole hearing. She told the judge she’s been suffering from horrible depression since her parents were killed.
”I try and I try to get back to normal and I can’t,” she said. “I try to fall asleep and hope they come to me in my dreams, but they don’t. I can’t feel them anywhere.”
Meyer made no statement in court Tuesday. His lawyer said, “e does want healing for everyone in this courtroom.”
Campbell County Circuit Court Judge Dan Zalla called Meyer’s behavior “incomprehensible.”
The fatal killing shed light on the dangerous nature of police pursuits, which in Ohio alone resulted in the deaths of 147 bystanders, an average of more the four people a year, between 1982 and 2014, according to the Ohio Attorney General's Office.
The family of the Laibles sued three Cincinnati police officers and the city of Cincinnati in August. The lawsuit states the chase was reckless and the officers "flagrantly and knowingly" violated the department's safety rules.
The family said the entire chase was unnecessary because there was no reason to immediately arrest Meyer. The couple's daughter, Angela Endress, said police documents showed investigators had "real-time" phone surveillance of Meyer.
On Tuesday, Endress said the sentencing was bittersweet because she knows there is a long road ahead with the lawsuit against Cincinnati and the police officers.
Endress hired the same law firm that represented the family of Kyle Plush, the teen who died after getting trapped in his van. He called 911, but help never arrived. The Plush family secured a $6 million settlement from the city of Cincinnati and continue to push for significant reforms in the 911 center. Endress said she wants her lawsuit to result in similar reforms to police pursuits.
”If I’m still fighting the police until the day I die, I will, because my parents deserve justice,” Endress said.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Life in prison for driver in pursuit crash that killed 2 in Newport
