A man who struck and killed a 16-year-old boy walking at night in a crosswalk in Long Beach was sentenced on Friday, Feb. 16, to six months in county jail.
Superior Court Judge Sean D. Coen also ordered Kevin Chris Dahl, 35, of Lakewood to perform 30 days of community labor, be on probation for two years and to take a driver’s safety course.
The victim’s parents opposed the plea deal.
Dahl pleaded no contest last month to a felony count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence in connection with the Sept. 4, 2021, crash that killed Aiden Tai Gossage, a senior at Millikan High School.
Deputy District Attorney Samantha Borghi told the judge that Dahl had been driving 10 mph to 20 mph over the posted speed limit.
The judge said what happened was “an absolute tragedy.” He noted that the probationary term “will be hanging over the defendant’s head.”
The judge added that Dahl could face two to six years in state prison if he violates probation.
The victim’s mother, Lily Gossage, told reporters outside of court that the family had asked for a sentence of one year — with no less than nine months.
“This was not a jaywalker,” she said. “It was a child walking legally in the street.”
Dahl was behind the wheel of a 2001 Chevrolet Tracker that struck the teen as he crossed Los Coyotes Diagonal at Deborah Street in a marked crosswalk at about 9:10 p.m.
He would have turned 17 just under three weeks later, said his father, Greg, who works as a criminalist for the Long Beach Police Department.
“If I could have my son back, I’d forget all about this,” he said, calling him his “hero.”