August 31, 2023 4:50 pm
• Last Updated: August 31, 2023 4:50 pm
Ashley Ferguson Jones, 31, was struck and killed on Dec. 1, 2016 by a tractor trailer while outside her car in the breakdown lane of Interstate 95 in Old Lyme. (Photo courtesy Lisa Ferguson).
Norwich ― An explosion of emotions from the mother of a woman killed in a highway crash in Old Lyme briefly halted court proceeding on Thursday during the sentencing of the truck driver convicted in the crash.
Lisa Ferguson of Norwich, whose 31-year-old daughter Ashley Ferguson Jones was killed in a Dec. 1, 2016 crash on Interstate 95, broke down in tears and yelled at Superior Court Judge Kevin Murphy as she exited the courtroom, slamming the doors on her way out.
Moments earlier, Murphy announced a sentence of five years of probation for Nicolae Marcu of New Hampshire, the driver in the crash that killed Jones. He had faced up to five years in prison for his felony conviction of misconduct with a motor vehicle.
“Are you (expletive) kidding me,” Ferguson yelled. “Justice not served.”
Murphy, who was the presiding judge in Marcu’s long-delayed trial that was completed in May, adopted the sentence recommendation of the probation department, which had performed a pre-sentence investigation into Marcu. Defense attorney Michael Miller said it was an exceptionally good report and determined Marcu to be “sincere in his remorse and humility.”
On Dec. 1, 2016, Marcu was driving a tractor-trailer south on I-95 in Old Lyme, between exits 70 and 71, when his truck struck Jones, a mother of two with close ties to New London and Shiloh Baptist Church. Jones had pulled her Kia Optima over into the breakdown lane and exited her car to check on her coughing infant daughter in the back seat. Jones was leaning into the back seat when police said Marcu’s truck plowed into Jones and the left side of her car.
The impact sent Jones 70 feet from the vehicle. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Jones’ 1-year-old child and a passenger were not seriously injured. Marcu’s truck had traveled off the roadway, through the guardrails and into trees off the side of the highway.
At trial, Judge Murphy concluded there was no explanation for the crash other than inattentiveness, and therefore criminal negligence, on the part of Marcu. On Thursday, Murphy said while he understands Jones’ family would prefer the biblical “eye for an eye” judgment, he determined Marcu did not intend to cause the crash or kill Jones.
There was no evidence Marcu was speeding, intoxicated, on drugs or using his phone at the time of the crash and no aggravating factors that would justify a stiffer sentence, Murphy said. Marcu does not have a criminal record.
Assistant State’s Attorney David Smith, who prosecuted the case, had argued for at least some prison time considering a ripple effect of loss that had devastated Jones’ family, which includes Jones’ husband Marshall Jones, two kids and countless relatives and friends.
“I don’t think anybody here believes Mr. Marcu is a bad person…that he went out that day seeking to end the life of somebody,” Smith said.
But, Smith said, “the defendant’s actions or inaction caused the death of an individual.” Smith argued that a sentence with prison time might be a signal to others that there are consequences for not paying attention and killing someone as a result.
Miller, Marcu’s defense attorney, said Marcu never drove a truck again after the accident and has limited financial resources to take care of his own family which includes two children.
“Any jail time would devastate him and his family, ” Miller said.
Marcu’s wife, Andrea Marcu, had also appealed to the judge, calling her husband a man of faith.
“My husband is not a criminal. He is a good man, a good father,” she said. “His sentence is our sentence.“
Marcu apologized to Jones’ family in court before the sentencing and said he had taken full responsibility for his actions. Several members of Jones’ family had submitted impact statements to the judge and were present in Norwich Superior Court for sentencing but did speak in court.
While sympathetic to both families, Judge Murphy said he had attempted to remove emotion from his deliberations on a sentence, relying instead on the factors of punishment, deterrence and rehabilitation.
Outside the courtroom, Ferguson continued to express her astonishment at the sentence and said her pain was a life sentence.
“I’ve waited seven years for some justice,” Ferguson said. “So you’re allowed to kill someone and get away with it. Only in white America.”
The crash is the source of a civil lawsuit against Marcu and trucking company MGR, which he worked for at the time of the crash. Court records show an undisclosed settlement was reached in the case.
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