BOSTON, Oct. 31, 2014—The drunk driver who killed cyclist Doan Bui as Bui rode home from a night of fishing will serve 18 months in a house of correction rather than the state prison term recommended by Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s office.
Assistant District Attorney Gregory Henning of the DA’s Major Felony Bureau today recommended a term of six to eight years in state prison for MICHAEL AHERN (D.O.B. 12/23/65) of Dorchester following Ahern’s Oct. 14 conviction for felony motor vehicle homicide. That recommendation exceeded the sentencing guidelines of 40 to 60 months, Henning said, because Ahern was travelling about 20 miles above the speed limit when he killed Bui, had been drinking for hours before doing so, and had a lengthy driving record: his license has been suspended 12 times, he has incurred more than 30 moving violations, and was deemed a habitual traffic offender.
Judge Christopher Muse sentenced Ahern to two and a half years in a house of correction, with 18 months to serve and the balance suspended for six years. During that time, Muse ordered, Ahern must undergo alcohol abuse evaluation, partake in any treatment deemed necessary, perform 500 hours of community service, and not operate a motor vehicle.
“Doan Bui did nothing wrong but ride his bike along the same route this defendant used after drinking all night,” Conley said. “As a result of this defendant’s choices to drink and drive, the Bui family lost a father, a husband, and a source of emotional and financial support.”
In a victim impact statement read to the court by the trial prosecutor, Bui’s children recalled their father in the present tense before voicing a wish.
“He is hard-working,” they wrote. “He is nice and courteous with everyone and is always ready to help. Every morning he drives us to school and helps us with homework …. . If I have a wish, I hope my dad would belong with us and drunks do not drive any more in order to not injure anyone else. We and my mom miss him a lot.”
Evidence at Ahern’s trial proved that Bui, 63 and a resident of Dorchester, was riding his bicycle in the right hand travel lane of Morrissey Boulevard on his way home from fishing at Malibu Beach. At about 12:25 a.m., the evidence showed, Ahern was travelling the same stretch of roadway and struck Bui with such force that Bui’s body was thrown more than 150 feet from the point of impact. State Police collision reconstruction experts opined that Ahern was travelling at about 50 miles per hour in a 30 mile per hour zone.
Evidence also proved that State Police responding to Ahern’s 911 call detected a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, found him to be unsteady on his feet, and observed his eyes to be bloodshot and glassy. Troopers testified that he slurred his speech and claimed to be unaware that he had hit anyone. When asked if he had been drinking, he said he “may have had one” drink at the Slate Bar and Grill, in which he had an ownership interest.
Ahern was transported to Boston Medical Center, where he was treated for cuts and bruises. Though the judge ruled it inadmissible at trial, Ahern refused to let physicians there draw blood, which could have shown that he was bleeding internally but which also would have shown that he was impaired. The judge also ruled that jurors would not hear Ahern left the hospital that morning against medical advice.
Jurors did hear that Ahern had been at the Sel de Terre restaurant earlier in the day, and had been drinking at Slate for more than 2 hours before the crash. Video recovered from Slate showed Ahern consuming alcohol and captured him getting into his truck after leaving the bar.
Jennifer Sears was the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocate. Ahern was represented by attorney Daniel O’Malley.
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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
