14-Year Sentence for Driver in Old Lyme Triple-Fatal Wrong-Way Crash

Police said a Rhode Island man was under the influence and driving the wrong way.

A Rhode Island man will serve 14 years for for his role in a wrong-way crash on Interstate 95 in December that killed three people, including a mother and daughter.

State police said Frank Sundstrom, 52, of Warwick, Rhode Island, was under the influence of drugs or alcohol when he got onto I-95 South in Old Lyme, driving northbound, and struck an oncoming car driven by Tamara Nolin, 71, of Branford around 9 p.m. on Dec. 11, 2012. The 14-year sentence is the result of a plea bargain.

Marjorie Minore, 90, of North Haven, and her daughter, Barbara Prato, 63, of East Haven, were also in Nolin's car. All three were killed.

Sundstom was charged with three counts of second-degree vehicular manslaughter, driving under the influence, operating under the influence, driving the wrong way on a divided highway and improper entry. 

When Sundstrom was arraigned, he appeared before a judge while in a wheelchair.

"He's still breathing," said Prato's daughter, Melissa Prato, outside the courthouse. "I really could care less what his ailments are. It actually means nothing to me. I lost my whole life."

Sundstrom, from Warwick, RI, has had five operations since the crash, his lawyer, John Manni, said last August. "He and his family are devastated over this, especially for the families of the victims," Manni said.

Tina Shaw, Minore's neighbor, said that she had last saw Prato pick up her mother to go to a casino.

The crash happened hours after the National Transportation Safety Board released findings on wrong-way crashes. Prior to this crash, there were fatal wrong-way crashes in eight states over nine days.

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