Nearly three years after a Gilroy teen lost her life, flung from
the bed of a swerving pickup truck, the driver whose negligence
killed Erin Kinkel has paid less than 1 percent of his
court-ordered restitution, and faces new charges for skirting his
sentence.
Gilroy – Nearly three years after a Gilroy teen lost her life, flung from the bed of a swerving pickup truck, the driver whose negligence killed Erin Kinkel has paid less than 1 percent of his court-ordered restitution, and faces new charges for skirting his sentence.
Anthony McDowell, 21, pleaded guilty and was convicted of vehicular manslaughter in 2005, in a high-profile case that riveted Gilroy. The Morgan Hill man veered off a country road and hit a tree, ejecting 15-year-old Erin Kinkel, who was riding in the bed of his truck. At a harrowing two-day sentencing hearing, McDowell said he loathed himself, suffered nightmares and asked to be jailed, saying, “A young girl’s blood is on my hands for the rest of my life.”
Superior Court Judge Susan Bernardini meted out a considerably lighter sentence, ordering McDowell to do 300 hours of community service and pay more than $16,000 in restitution and court fees, $14,425 of it to the Kinkel family, to cover counseling and funeral costs.
But McDowell has paid only $156 – less than 1 percent of the sum – and hasn’t done a single hour of community service. The Kinkels have received only $52.
“Every single thing he got up and said at sentencing has proven completely untrue,” said Scott Kinkel, Erin’s father. “That’s the most disappointing thing to me.”
Monday, he skipped a hearing for violating his probation, and Superior Court Judge Hugh Mullins issued a no-bail warrant for his arrest. Sheriff’s deputy George Hessling arrested McDowell Thursday night in Morgan Hill, at 685 Roble Lane. He was booked into Elmwood Jail without bail.
McDowell could receive a maximum sentence of one year in jail for violating his probation, said Deputy District Attorney Amir Alem, who pushed for jail time when he prosecuted McDowell in 2005. Alem will again ask that McDowell be jailed – but for how long, he isn’t sure.
“He was given a chance, and he hasn’t taken advantage of that chance,” said Alem. “He’s done absolutely nothing, and nothing has changed. I don’t see why he shouldn’t go to jail this time around.”
Kinkel’s death shook the city. Friends at Gilroy High remembered the teen’s high grades and higher leaps, as a member of the cheerleading squad; her face was copied onto buttons and posters touting seat belt use. Today, a scholarship bears her name. And Scott Kinkel became a drive-safe crusader, delivering his heartfelt gospel to high schools from Morgan Hill to Salinas. In that cause, he’s found meaning. But every time he speaks about the crash, he relives the horror.
“It kills me,” said Kinkel in a November interview. “I don’t sleep the night before. I get sick to my stomach. Because I know what I have to talk about.”
At his trial, McDowell pledged to help Scott Kinkel spread the word, and said he’d devote his community service hours to counseling teens to drive safely. His failure to do so – even once – galled Karen Jenkins, a neighbor and friend of the Kinkel family.
“It’s an absolute shame,” said Jenkins, speaking Friday morning at home. “During the trial he said he wanted to make a difference. To make things better. Now he’s blown it off … It’s like a slap in the face to Scott personally.”
McDowell is scheduled to be arraigned Monday, June 25 in Superior Court in San Martin.
