NEWBURYPORT — A New Hampshire man will spend the next six months in jail and three years under supervised probation after pleading guilty to negligent motor vehicle homicide in the death of his passenger in an accident last year.
Sheldon Pohl, 23, of 13 Lakeside Drive, Sandown, N.H., was sentenced Monday by Judge Allen Swan in Newburyport District Court on the charge from the accident that killed Djen Thomas, 26, of Haverhill at 5:55 a.m. on June 27.
Pohl was sentenced to 21/2 years in the house of correction, with six months to be served and the balance suspended with three years' probation conditioned upon his remaining drug and alcohol free. He will also lose his license for the statutory maximum of 15 years, and was fined $550.
According to court documents, Pohl's 2003 Ford Explorer rolled over after he fell asleep at the wheel traveling north on I-495 on his way to work with Thomas. After hitting the median strip, the Explorer rolled across three lanes of traffic, witnesses reported, before the car came to a stop at the treeline beyond the breakdown lane near exit 54 in Amesbury.
Pohl told state police Trooper Steven O'Connor that when the car stopped, he noticed Thomas was no longer in the car. Thomas had been ejected from the vehicle.
Pohl and Thomas were taken first to Anna Jaques Hospital. Thomas was transferred to Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, where he died later that day from trauma caused by the accident.
According to court documents, Pohl told O'Connor he was traveling 72 or 75 miles per hour. Originally charged with reckless motor vehicle homicide, Judge Peter Doyle reduced the charges to negligent motor vehicle homicide in May.
The additional charge of negligent driving was dismissed. Pohl was found responsible for the additional charges of marked lanes violation and speeding. Both convictions were filed.
