‘A day that changed my life forever’: State College man sentenced in 2021 crash that injured 3
A State College man who was driving under the influence of an illegal drug when he caused a chain-reaction crash that seriously injured three people was sentenced Tuesday to several years in state prison.
Darin Verbeck, 51, was sentenced by Centre County Judge Brian Marshall to at least three years in state prison. His maximum sentence is six years. He received credit for nearly six months served in the county jail and was ordered to pay nearly $37,000 in restitution.
Verbeck was driving in March 2021 near the intersection of West College Avenue and Science Park Road when he rear-ended an SUV stopped at a red light, Ferguson Township police wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.
Two people in the SUV — Rachel Breon and her son, Alex Breon — were seriously injured. The crash pushed the SUV into a U.S. Postal Service vehicle driven by Taylor Woods, who was also seriously injured.
Rachel Breon was treated for a broken back. Her son, who was 17 at the time of the crash, was treated for a concussion and eye injuries. The crash, Rachel Breon said, was “terrifying.”
“I was in pain and worried. Worried for my future health, worried about my new job; depressed and scared to move the wrong way and paralyzing myself for life,” Breon said tearfully during Tuesday’s sentencing hearing. “Trying to explain to my young granddaughters time and time again that I couldn’t pick them up, I couldn’t bend to hug them, they couldn’t play around me, we couldn’t go for walks and we couldn’t take our trip to the amusement park was hard.”
There were no shortage of hurdles Breon had to clear. She could not exercise, lift more than 5 pounds, sit for prolonged periods or ride a motorcycle, all-terrain vehicle, kayak or boat.
Breon also had to cancel a handful of summer plans, including a motorcycle charity event, a trip to Texas, Independence Day plans and more.
“My life will never get back to the way it was before the crash, but I do know March 22, 2021, is a day that changed my life forever,” Breon said. “Not just for the day, or the week, or even the summer, but for the rest of my life and that’s something I will have to continue to come to terms with because of a moment in life I had no part in creating.”
Woods was treated for a “pretty severe” head injury that put her out of work for several months, she said via video conferencing. She may live with the injury the rest of her life, something she said is “really difficult to come to terms with.”
She had to pay for some medical treatments out-of-pocket and occasionally struggled to pay rent. Woods “absolutely loved” her job, but said she left the profession because she “couldn’t put myself back in that position of driving around all day.”
“This whole thing has been the worst experience of my entire life,” Woods said. “... It’s affected me a lot more than he or anyone else really knew or realized.”
Neither Woods nor Breon expressed animosity toward Verbeck, who tested positive for fentanyl. Verbeck was not aware the opioid painkiller that’s much more powerful than heroin was in a CBD supplement he ingested, defense lawyer Julian Allatt said.
Verbeck pleaded no contest in November to three felony counts of aggravated assault by vehicle by DUI and one misdemeanor count of DUI. The plea meant he accepted the conviction, but did not expressly admit he committed the crime.
Verbeck offered a tearful apology to Woods and Breon, saying their statements “crushed” him.
“In my worst nightmare, I never would have thought I could hurt someone like I hurt you. I’m so sorry for that. I’m so sorry,” Verbeck said. “I don’t know how I’m ever going to be forgiven for it, but that’s pretty much the only thing of value I have left in my life — your forgiveness. ... I didn’t mean to do this.”
This story was originally published March 15, 2022 at 4:17 PM.