PORTSMOUTH
Edward Cooper would later realize he had driven past the accident scene on his way to work . He didn’t recognize his brother’s car in the wreckage.
James Mason Cooper, 48, was killed June 15, 2007, when his vehicle was struck by a car on Interstate 264 near Greenwood Drive .
The other driver, Tucker R. Habel, 27, refused a blood-alcohol test, but failed field sobriety tests at the scene.
In April, the Suffolk man pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and driving under the influence.
Cooper was in court Tuesday for Habel’s sentencing.
Habel received a sentence that amounts to 10 months in jail, with an additional four years and two months suspended. He will serve five years of supervised probation.
Circuit Court Judge Johnny E. Morrison granted Habel’s request to be allowed to go to a family member’s wedding in Hawaii before beginning his sentence.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Earle Mobley said he respected the judge’s decision, but added “given the circumstances surrounding the death – the alcohol and the high speed – we were anticipating a term of years in the penitentiary.”
Warren Kozak, Habel’s attorney, said he thought it was a fair verdict.
“He had no record whatsoever,” Kozak said.
Cooper still misses his older brother, who was a master brick mason.
He still dreams about him and thinks about him a lot when he’s on the road.
He’ll drive past the cemetery where James Cooper was buried. Or he’ll drive near the accident site and wonder if his brother would be alive had he reached that spot just 30 seconds earlier.
Edward Cooper had little to say about the sentence.
“It’s the judge’s decision,” he said.
He noted that Habel’s family will have him around for weddings and holidays.
“I’m not going to have anything like that,” Cooper said. “I can’t change it. I can’t bring him back.”
Janie Bryant, (757) 446-2453, janie.bryant@pilotonline.com
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