Man gets leniency after causing drunken driving crash in Centre County. ‘I am deeply sorry’
A western Pennsylvania man who caused a drunken driving crash that seriously injured his passenger was granted leniency Friday by a Centre County judge who applauded his remorse and willingness to seek treatment.
Centre County Judge Katherine Oliver opted against additional jail time for Michael J. Boccardi, who reported to the Centre County Correctional Facility in October and served 60 days.
“I appreciate that you’re here taking responsibility for your actions,” Oliver said before she announced his sentence. “I believe that your statements of remorse are very genuine and that goes a long way to helping to persuade the court that you will do all that you can to ensure that this kind of thing does not happen again.”
She later added: “I believe that you have really turned things around.”
Boccardi, 25, of Butler County, was sentenced to 60 days of house arrest, as well as four years of probation and 50 hours of community service. His driving privileges are set to be suspended by the state Transportation Department and he was fined $1,500.
He pleaded guilty in September to two misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person, as well as one misdemeanor count of DUI. Two charges were dropped.
Boccardi described the crash as a “life-changing moment and a life-changing situation that I will never repeat.” In a letter sent to Oliver, he wrote he participated in drug and alcohol counseling and advocates against drunken driving.
“I am deeply sorry for my irresponsible actions and have not only embarrassed my own name but my family and all my friends. I truly wish I did not step into the vehicle that night for everyone else(‘s) anguish,” Boccardi wrote. “I know that I can never do anything to make up for my actions. I carry the burden everyday knowing that I cannot make this up to anyone and that even though I am extremely sorry it will never be enough. I never want to let my family and friends down again and never wan to have someone else experience this dread.”
Boccardi crashed a Honda sedan near the base of Pine Grove Mountain after leaving a Penn State football game in October 2021, Ferguson Township police wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.
The former Penn State student’s blood alcohol content was 0.161%, police wrote, about twice the legal limit of 0.08%. Centre County First Assistant District Attorney Sean McGraw said Boccardi was also speeding.
Boccardi drove off the 200 block of South Water Street, sheared a telephone poll and overturned the vehicle.
His cousin — who was not wearing a seat belt — was ejected. He was flown by medical helicopter to UPMC Altoona for treatment of injuries that included a concussion, two broken ribs and a collapsed lung.
“We both made the poor decision of getting in the car when we shouldn’t have. He and I were both drinking, and it could have just as easily been me in the driver’s seat, and Michael in the passenger seat,” he wrote in a letter to Oliver. “If Michael would have been seriously injured, even though he was driving, I would have felt equally responsible.”
Boccardi had several lacerations, including one to his eye that required surgery. Each of them fully recovered, defense lawyer Steve Trialonas said.
McGraw wrote in a memo that Boccardi’s cousin refused to cooperate with prosecutors. He did not want Boccardi to serve any time in jail, Trialonas wrote.
“They have been inseparable since they were little, and care a great deal about one another,” Trialonas wrote. “Neither would ever want to cause harm to the other, and feel terrible about the accident and events leading up to the accident.”
Boccardi withdrew from the university after the crash and lived with his parents. He also worked a full-time job at a cellphone repair shop, using some of the money he made to pay for his cousin’s medical expenses.
He complied with all of his bail conditions for the more than two years since the crash and has no other criminal history, Trialonas wrote.
“He’s done everything that he possibly could do,” Trialonas said.
Nine people backed Boccardi in letters they sent to Oliver, including the cousin he injured, his parents, sisters, grandparents and his boss.
Boccardi’s mom described her son as intelligent, hardworking and remorseful, while his father said his son is working to building his life. His twin sister wrote his actions after the crash have made her “even more proud to call him my twin brother.”
“This accident has also impacted me to never allow anyone to drink and drive no matter the circumstance,” his younger sister wrote. “Because it is never worth it.”