By Jeremy Walsh
The drunk driver who mowed down a 16-year-old Middle Village teen and his friend in a stolen car a year ago has been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison for killing them, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.
Kenneth Guyear, 28, of Middle Village, pleaded guilty last month to vehicular manslaughter. Queens Supreme Court Justice Dorothy Chin-Brandt sentenced him Tuesday to between 7 1/2 and 15 years behind bars, the maximum sentence allowed.
“The defendant’s decision to get behind the wheel of a car after drinking alcohol ended with the deaths of two young people and with him going to prison for a substantial period of time,” Brown said in a statement. “Perhaps his time behind bars will allow him to reflect on what all motorists should know: Do not drink and drive. Ever.”
Early in the morning on Feb. 1, 2009, Robert Ogle, 16, and Brooklyn resident Alex Paul, 20, were walking home from a party near 80th Street and 62nd Avenue in Middle Village when they were hit by a stolen 2001 Kia driven by Guyear.
Robert, a student at Brooklyn Technical High School and a volunteer at the Queens Hall of Science, was pronounced dead at the scene. Paul was taken to Elmhurst Hospital where he died a few hours later.
Guyear, who had taken the car after it was left idling in front of a store, was stopped by police near Woodhaven Boulevard and Alderton Street.
An intoxilyzer test performed at the 112th Precinct revealed he had a blood alcohol level of .126, and Guyear also told police he had drunk five or six alcoholic beverages and taken two Xanax pills before getting behind the wheel.
Robert’s death provoked an outcry that resulted in a city law stiffening penalties for drivers who leave their cars idling unattended. His family is also suing Guyear, the car’s owner and the family who owned the house where the party took place.
Reach reporter Jeremy Walsh by e-mail at jewalsh@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.
