Dany Heatley Gets 3-year Probation

[Jaimoe]

Here's the story from MSN.ca:

ATLANTA (AP) - Thrashers star Dany Heatley was sentenced to three years of probation Friday and must give 150 speeches about the dangers of speeding after pleading guilty in the death of teammate Dan Snyder in a car accident.

In exchange for his plea, Heatley saw the only felony charge - first-degree vehicular homicide - dropped along with a charge of reckless driving. "The mistake I made that night was speeding," Heatley said at his sentencing. "This mistake will stay with me the rest of my life."

The plea deal also allowed Heatley, a Canadian citizen, to avoid any threat of deportation, and therefore should not affect his ability to play in the NHL.

Heatley, a 24-year-old from Calgary, pleaded guilty to second-degree vehicular homicide, driving too fast for conditions, failure to maintain a lane and speeding for the Sept. 29, 2003, crash in Atlanta that killed 25-year-old Snyder from Elmira, Ont.

Police said that Heatley, the MVP of the 2004 IIHF men's world hockey championship, was driving his black Ferrari convertible on a curved road in a residential area when it ran into a brick pillar and iron fence. Police estimated he was driving between 100 km/h and 150 km/h.

Snyder, a passenger in the car, died after several days in a coma.

Prosecutor Shondeana Crews said police experts found Heatley was driving at least 131 km/h. Defence lawyer Ed Garland said one expert thought Heatley was driving only 88 km/h. The speed limit was 56 km/h.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Roland Barnes said he noted the discrepancies among speed estimates when agreeing to the plea.

Authorities said Heatley had consumed some alcohol, but was not intoxicated.

If the case went to trial and Heatley was convicted on all counts, the hockey star would have faced up to 20 years in prison and fines totalling $5,000.

Snyder's father, Graham, and brother, Jake, both testified about their loss but agreed they didn't want Heatley to go to jail or lose his hockey career over it. The judge took that into consideration in the sentencing.

"As a parent, it's hard to explain how you feel about losing your son. My pride in Dan was immeasurable," said Graham Snyder. "We will all miss him. So how do we move on from here? Forgiveness in our hearts has helped us move on. We forgive because Dany has shown remorse to his family."

Graham Snyder added that he wanted Heatley to continue playing professional hockey, adding that, "Dany has a burden that he will carry for the rest of his life."

Jake Snyder said in a statement that Heatley was someone his brother counted on.

"I know he never intended for this to happen. I don't want to see my friend go to prison, I know Dan would feel the same way," Jake Snyder said.

Under the terms of his probation, Heatley must give at least 50 public speeches each year about speeding - nearly one speech a week. He also cannot drive except for work, medical purposes, going to the grocery store or for attending his speeches.

The judge also said the court will have to approve the type of car Heatley drives. The car cannot have more than six cylinders and will have a mechanism to prevent it from exceeding 112 km/h.

District attorney Paul Howard said he thinks Heatley's sentence is fair.

"This was a traffic-related incident," he said. "It was not an intentional incident."

Heatley, who was born in Germany, was drafted by the Thrashers second overall in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. He won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2001-02 season.

Heatley flew back to the United States on Monday from Switzerland, where he was playing during the NHL lockout, in preparation for the hearing.

[Esau]

Three years probation eh..and a guy died.

Advantages of money I guess...

[color:"purple"]Guess I'd have been better off if I crashed my car when they pulled me over in 2003...I'd could have avoided jail time