The first time Ed Lesher laid eyes on the teenage girl who caused the death of his son and two other boys was Wednesday afternoon in a northeastern Pennsylvania courtroom.
The adjudication hearing in Wayne County for Julia Ware was also the first time most of the family and friends of the three 15-year-old Council Rock High School South students killed in a rollover accident last summer saw the now 16-year-old girl who was driving her father’s SUV without a license when she lost control of the vehicle, killing three and injuring two others.
When Julia entered the fourth-floor courtroom, flanked by her mom and lawyer, she was shaking, her face red and tear-stained. She did not look at the 30-plus people in the audience.
She didn’t look at the poster placed on an empty seat in the front of the courtroom that featured photos of the boys who died: Ryan Lesher, Cullen Keffer and Shamus Digney. The three were incoming sophomores who lived in Northampton.
“I can’t tell you what I thought,” Lesher said following the hearing during which Julia, of Pleasantville, New York, admitted to five charges, including three counts of felony homicide by vehicle, related to the Aug. 30 fatal accident.
Julia was 15 when she was driving too fast down winding Goosepond Road near Lake Wallenpaupak in Paupack Township. She failed to negotiate a left curve, sending the 2001 Chevy Suburban off the road where it rolled over several times before coming to a stop, police said.
Cullen died at the scene. Ryan and Shamus were taken to a hospital, but later died. Julia, a 15-year-old female passenger and Ryan Keim, another 15-year-old Council Rock South student, were injured.
Julia, charged as a juvenile, who initially faced 12 offenses, also admitted to two misdemeanor counts of accidents involving death or injury as an unlicensed driver. The seven other offenses were dropped against the 10th-grader in exchange for her admission.
Julia’s disposition — the equivalent of sentencing in adult court — will take place in 30 days following an evaluation by the probation department, presiding Wayne County Judge Raymond Hamill said.
Hamill has various options he can impose on Julia, including placing her outside the home. Juvenile sentences are indefinite, must be reviewed every six months, and everything ends at age 21.
Hamill told Julia that as a result of her admission to the crimes, she would not be allowed a driver’s license for a “long, long” time — at least four years.
Juvenile court proceedings are typically closed to the public, but Julia’s case fell under an exception since she was at least 14 at the time of the accident and her crimes would have been graded as felonies in adult court.
“This is terribly tragic and terribly hurtful for many, many people and I’m sorry for that,” Hamill said.
Of the 30-some family members and friends who filled the courtroom, including Lesher and his wife, Lisa, many wore specially designed T-shirts that read: “I Can I Will I Must” on the front and “CRS” on the back with the boys’ initials and jersey numbers.
The T-shirts are sold throughout the Council Rock district and the money goes toward scholarships in honor of the boys.
Some carried signs: “Be a parent to your child before being a friend” and “Charge Julia Ware as an Adult.” The latter sign is one Lesher has posted in a window of his nearby vacation home.
“There is a whole school suffering here,” said Mike Leonporra, of Churchville, a friend of the Lesher family. “I feel as though she should go to jail. Everybody here is suffering. Why should she go to a senior prom? Why should she enjoy herself?”
Julia and her mother left the courthouse through a backdoor and were rushed into a waiting car.
“(The Ware family has) done nothing but express the deepest of sorrows since this happened,” said attorney John Stieh, who represented Julia. “You saw the torment that girl had today. You saw the upset.”
After the hearing, Ed Lesher, who had wanted Julia prosecuted as an adult, said her admission doesn’t offer him any consolation. It won’t bring back the boys, he said.
“She knew she was wrong. She murdered three boys,” he said. “It was his 16th birthday two weeks ago and I spent his birthday at the cemetery. She should be punished like her father.”
vPennsylvania State Police, who handled the investigation, say the accident wasn’t the first time Julia got behind the wheel of a car without a license. The previous day, Julia’s father, Michael Ware, allowed her to drive from their suburban New York City home to a vacation home on Lake Wallenpaupak, according to court documents.
Michael Ware, 53, of Scarsdale, is awaiting trial on three counts of involuntary manslaughter, endangering the welfare of children, false reports and related charges. He is free on $100,000 unsecured bail. No trial date has been scheduled for him.
State police say Michael Ware lied about Julia taking the SUV without his permission. The police investigation found Ware gave his daughter permission to drive the day of the accident and at other times, authorities said.
Witnesses interviewed after the accident told troopers they saw a dark SUV speeding down a hill in the 3000 block of Goosepond Road, near St. Mary Church Road, before hearing a loud crash.
The accident scene is near the resort community of Wallenpaupak Lake Estates, where both the Ware and Lesher families have vacation homes. Ed Lesher was staying with the four boys at the home for the Labor Day weekend.
Ryan Keim told police Julia was “flying” and he and his friends told her to “slow down,” court documents note.
The teen girl passenger told police she and Julia went to Dunkin’ Donuts around 9:30 a.m. and then returned to the Ware house, before going to the Lesher home to pick up the boys and drive to a nearby barbecue restaurant. On the return trip, as the SUV rounded a turn, the front passenger side tire went off the road and onto the grass, then the vehicle flipped and landed on the driver’s side, the passenger told police.
Michael Ware appeared at the accident scene shortly afterward and told state police he was in the house cleaning when his daughter took the SUV without his knowledge, according to court documents. He reportedly told police he had allowed her to drive the vehicle only on private roads in the resort under his supervision.
Initially, Julia backed up her father’s story, telling authorities she took the vehicle without his permission to the nearby barbecue restaurant, the affidavit said.
Two months after the accident, an attorney representing the female teen passenger notified state police his client told him Michael Ware let Julia drive the SUV to Pennsylvania once they were outside New York City, according to the affidavit. The teen also claimed Michael Ware walked Julia and her to the car before they left for the barbecue restaurant the day of the accident.
Julia, through her attorney, later submitted a written statement that indicated she had her father’s permission to drive the SUV to Dunkin’ Donuts and then the barbecue restaurant.
Julia also said when her dad showed up at the accident scene, she overheard him tell police he didn’t know Julia took the car so “she (and the teen girl passenger) thought they were supposed to say they had the car without permission so as not to get him in trouble,” court documents allege.
Jo Ciavaglia: 215-949-4181; email: jciavaglia@calkins.com; Twitter: @jociavaglia
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