Hit-and-Run Driver Gets 4 Years in Prison : Courts: Before being sentenced, Brandon Wattier, 22, of Yorba Linda reads a poem dedicated to the crash victim, Wesley Straw, 8.

Struggling to keep his composure, a Yorba Linda man read a poem he wrote to express his grief and sorrow at causing a car crash that killed an 8-year-old boy. When he was finished, he was sentenced Friday to four years in prison.

Brandon Wattier, 22, was convicted of felony vehicular manslaughter and misdemeanor hit-and-run driving for crashing into another car on Oct. 10, 1993, and killing Wesley Straw of Moreno Valley. Wesley and his father were southbound on the Costa Mesa Freeway near Chapman Avenue when their car was struck, spun out of control and flipped in a ditch.

At several points during the hearing, the only sounds in the courtroom were the muffled sobs of two grief-stricken families.

Wattier, who wept during much of the hearing, apologized to the Straws and his own family before the sentencing and read a poem expressing his wish to somehow trade places with the dead boy. It ended on a request that Wesley always be remembered by those who loved him: “For no one is gone if they’re kept alive in your head.”

Tim Straw, Wesley’s father, also choked on his words as he tried to tell Orange County Superior Court Judge David T. McEachen how his son’s death has affected his life. He said his young daughter still cannot understand why her adored older brother was killed. He also read a poem written by Wesley’s cousin that explains God took the boy because “His little helper” was needed in heaven.

Defense attorney Jeff Kent asked for a sentence of probation combined with community service, saying Wattier never intended to hurt anyone. But prosecutor Steve Yonemura called Wattier “an accident waiting to happen” who deserved the maximum six-year prison term.

Wattier has a history of reckless driving and was cited for speeding three times within a 14-month period before the crash. Wattier blamed the crash on another driver who allegedly forced him off the road, and contended he clipped the Straws’ car as he was making his way back onto the freeway.

Wattier contends he never realized what had happened to the Straws until he read about it in a newspaper.

McEachen sentenced Wattier to four years in prison. Outside of court, Judy Ackel, Wesley’s mother, wiped tears from her eyes. “I guess I’m happy with it,” she said of the sentence.