TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

Friends of Mitchell Green asked the judge deciding his sentence to take into account that Green had been a model citizen before driving drunk the evening of Feb. 2.

He was a Kern County firefighter and had served six years in the U.S. Army, spending time in Bosnia and Afghanistan. He had no previous run-ins with the law.

Judge Charles H. Brehmer agreed that Green never meant to kill anyone. Nevertheless, his actions resulted in the death of 41-year-old Michelle Maxwell, who, the night of her death, was driving with her teenage daughter to sign a quilt for a 15-year-old girl who died of cancer.

Brehmer sentenced Green to nine years in prison.

Michelle Maxwell’s husband, Jerry Maxwell, gripped the shoulder of Michelle’s mother, Marceline Seberger, as the sentence was read. Seberger said she had hoped for a stiffer sentence, but Jerry Maxwell said in the long run it wouldn’t have made much of a difference. He said no matter what sentence Green received, his family would be impacted by his actions for the rest of their lives.

Several Green family members declined comment. Green’s attorney, Troy Childers, was not immediately available after the sentencing, and a receptionist at his law office said he would have no comment.

Before Tuesday’s sentencing, Seberger spoke in court about the anguish Green had caused her family. She said they sat through the Christmas holidays wishing Michelle was with them. Her daughter’s birthday fell just a few days after Christmas, she said.

She told Green he’ll never know how she and her family feel.

Her final words to Green: “May you make peace with God before you see him face to face.”

Afterward, Seberger said she believed Green truly was remorseful.

“Yes, I saw it in his eyes,” she said.

Michaela Maxwell, 15 at the time of the crash, and her sister Kathryn Maxwell both said they have forgiven Green. But they’ll never forget he caused their mother’s death.

“(My mother) will never be able to spoil my children or even meet them,” Michaela Maxwell told the court, sobbing as she read a statement.

Kathryn Maxwell said she had argued with her mother earlier on the day of the crash, and decided to stay in her room instead of going with her mother and sister to sign the quilt.

When the power went out at her house, she thought it was just a normal outage, but someone called and said there had been an accident.

She soon found out her mother and sister had been involved. When her father broke the news to her at the hospital that her mother was dead, she told him he was lying.

“I kept telling myself this wasn’t real,” Kathryn said. “I kept telling myself this wasn’t happening to me.”

She couldn’t believe a firefighter was responsible for the crash.

“How could someone who has sworn to protect us drive drunk?” Kathryn said.

Jerry Maxwell said he had wanted to badly hurt Green after doctors told him his wife was dead. He knew Green was in a hospital bed nearby.

But, as she did on the only two other occasions in his life when he’d wanted to seriously injure another person, his wife intervened, Jerry Maxwell said.

“I heard my wife’s voice saying, ‘It’s not worth it,’” he said.

Jerry Maxwell told Green that he’ll eventually be reunited with his family and be able to go on with his life. Green’s family can visit him in prison.

But when he and his daughters want to visit Michelle Maxwell, they have to drive to a cemetery and talk to a headstone, Jerry Maxwell said.

Kern County Fire Capt. Greg Black spoke on behalf of Green. He said Green is not a horrible person, but he “made a bad mistake, that’s for sure.”

Green has an outstanding work ethic, positive attitude and quickly earned the respect of the veteran firefighters at the station, Black said. He asked the judge to show mercy.

“(Green) is filled with remorse and regret,” Black said. “He will carry this for the rest of his life.”

Family friend Ken Wheeler also said Green is remorseful, and accepted responsibility for his actions from the start.

A three-year veteran of the fire department, Green pleaded no contest in December to felony gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and drunken driving charges. He twice rejected a plea that would have guaranteed him 10 years in prison, prosecutor Kim Marshall has said.

Kern County Fire spokesman Sean Collins said Green resigned from the department several weeks ago.

Bakersfield police have said Green’s Ford F-150 pickup crashed into the passenger side of a 2007 Hyundai Sonata driven by Michaela at Panama Lane and Ashe Road. Green ran a red light and didn’t brake as he slammed into the car, which was turning left from Panama Lane onto Ashe Road.

Michaela suffered a broken wrist, broken leg and bruises. She was driving on a learner’s permit. Her mother was on the passenger side, which took the brunt of the collision.

Green suffered broken bones and was pulled out of his pickup just before it burst into flames, police said. He had a blood-alcohol level of .13 percent, exceeding the .08 percent legal limit.