Ex-attorney gets maximum sentence in fatal hit-run
Disbarred local attorney John P. Duffy today was ordered by State Supreme Court Justice John L. Michalski to spend the next two and a third to seven years in prison for what the judge called his "cowardly actions" in trying to cover up a fatal hit-and-run accident last October.
Duffy, 42, pleaded guilty last Oct. 30 to a leaving the scene of a fatal incident charge in the Oct. 18 hit-and-run death of Hilbert College sophomore Meghan Sorbera. He was given the maximum sentence during an emotional courtroom session.
Duffy was handcuffed and taken into custody after addresses by Sorbera's parents and brother and his own wife. He had been free pending sentencing.
Duffy's wife, Tracy, began crying as she told the judge her husband is "a good man and an excellent father" to their two sons and daughter.
In a somewhat rambling speech, which he partially read from prepared notes, Duffy turned in the courtroom to Sorbera's parents, Peter and Susan Sorbera of Burlington Flats, and told them he knew they "lost the most of all in this."
Sorbera, 19, was struck by Duffy's SUV about 1:35 a.m. last Oct. 18 as she was walking back to the Hilbert campus on South Park Avenue with her boyfriend and a girlfriend after all three had worked that night at a haunted house at the Erie County Fairgrounds.
Sorbera's parents have filed a civil suit against Duffy.
Duffy told the Sorberas he "did not know I hit your daughter" as he drove off. Duffy, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, claimed his subsequent coverup attempts were "not consistent" with his life's work.
He said he prays every day for a chance to overcome the "pain and suffering" he caused and said "the community deserved better from me." But he still asked for "forgiveness and mercy" from the judge, who agreed to the sentence during the plea talks last October.
Daniel J. Chiachia, Duffy's lawyer and former law firm associate, told the judge Duffy is "not the monster the media made him out to be." He said that while Duffy had five drinks during a Buffalo Sabres game in Buffalo and afterward at two bars, he was not legally drunk as he drove home to Orchard Park.
Chiachia admitted Duffy "acted irrationally and impulsively" in trying to get his SUV repaired outside of Buffalo after the incident. But the attorney said Duffy apparently hit Sorbera, who was wearing dark clothing, when he reached down to pick up something that fell to the floor of his vehicle.
Chiachia claimed a woman driving behind Duffy also said she never saw Sorbera be hit.
Prosecutor Lynette M. Reda told the judge Hamburg town police said Duffy initially denied involvement in the accident after they tracked him down several days later.
Chiachia told the judge his client's doctors feel prison will accelerate the worsening of his multiple sclerosis.
The victim's parents and older brother, Peter, pleaded with the judge for the maximum seven-year prison term.
The victim's father, a retired state corrections officer, and her mother said they stood by her hospital bed at Erie County Medical Center as she was declared dead about six hours after the accident and despite frantic hospital efforts to keep her alive.
Mrs. Sorbera said she had always considered her daughter her "best friend" and her "twin," saying they frequently "finished each other's sentences."
Peter Sorbera Jr., a Central New York high school math teacher, denounced Duffy as "a selfish coward."
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments