AUBURN — A North Syracuse woman who killed two people and injured three others in a car crash last year was sentenced to five years of probation in Cayuga County Court Tuesday morning.
In June 2017, Kadesha Dunham, 25, attempted to pass a concrete truck on Franklin Street Road in Sennett. On Dunham's third attempt to pass the truck — in a no passing zone on a blind hill — she smashed head-on into an eastbound pickup truck. The pickup truck's driver, William Curtis, of Skaneateles, attempted to avoid the collision but could not.
Dunham's front seat passenger, Terrel Jackson, 29, of Syracuse, was pronounced dead at the scene. Dunham and 2-year-old backseat passenger Iy'Leiah Noreault were flown by helicopter to University Hospital in Syracuse. The day after the accident, state police announced that Noreault died, and Dunham was in critical condition.
Dunham's own 3-year-old son was also in the back seat and was paralyzed as result of the accident. Noreault's mother, Shandelle Benjamin-Noreault, 30, who was also in the back seat, and Curtis, the pickup driver, both sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
In July, Dunham pleaded guilty to two counts of criminally negligent homicide, class E felonies, and three counts of third-degree assault with criminal negligence, class A misdemeanors. The felonies carry a maximum sentence of up to four years in prison.
Dunham, who was hospitalized for many months after the accident, sustained a traumatic brain injury during the crash and reportedly has no memory of the accident.
Rome Canzano, Dunham's attorney, said Tuesday that when she "came to" in the hospital months after the accident, she had no recollection of the incident and didn't know people were killed and injured.
Senior Assistant District Attorney Diane Adsit added that Dunham's "life was in the balance" for quite some time. She said that Dunham's grandmother, who she and her son live with, also reported there have been many instances in which Dunham has been confused why her son is paralyzed, and she will have to remind Dunham about the accident and that it was her fault.
"Being reminded of (that) constantly is a hell of its own she has to live through," Adsit said. She added that Dunham is also "living a hell of her own" by being stuck in a body with life-long medical issues.
Due to the severity of her injuries, the Cayuga County District Attorney's office advocated for Dunham to be sentenced to probation with strict conditions including a curfew, no drug or alcohol use, license revocation, compliance with her doctors and a traumatic brain injury program, and a permanent order of protection for the family of Terrel Jackson. The DA's office consulted with the families of the victims in reaching this recommendation.
Another factor in the recommendation is that the traumatic brain injury program Dunham is currently in does not allow those who have been incarcerated to participate, so she would lose eligibility if sent to prison.
The DA's office also previously reported that a sentence of probation would provide "greater control over" Dunham's behavior for a longer period of time than sentencing her to prison, as she would likely be given immediate medical parole if she was sent to a state correctional facility.
"This is an incredibly difficult case for me," Judge Thomas Leone said in court Tuesday. "I'm losing some sleep over this one."
Dunham was originally in court for sentencing on Oct. 30, however, at that time Leone said he "cannot in good conscious" go ahead with the agreed upon sentence. He was "disturbed" by Dunham's pre-sentence report as he saw no evidence of remorse from Dunham, and she admitted to using marijuana on a regular basis until mid-September. At that time Leone vocalized that he saw two options — sentence Dunham to prison that day, or adjourn the case so he could see Dunham's medical records and documentation of her TBI as he didn't have any of those files.
Jackson's mother, Maryann Donalson, also spoke at court in October, advocating for Dunham to be placed on probation.
"You took the breath out of me when you took my son," Donalson said through tears. "He was a father, he was a brother and he was my child."
She said that what Dunham did was "reckless" and that in "stupidity" she was responsible for the lives lost. She expressed, however, that "there is nothing to gain from her being in prison." If Dunham were sent to prison, and could no longer get the medical attention she needs, Donalson said that would be another life lost and she didn't want that for Dunham nor her parents.
"I'm begging you to be OK with (probation)," she told Leone. "I'm at peace with it. ... It's not for me to judge her anymore, I left that to God."
"You're an incredible woman, I'll say that," Leone said following Donalson's testimony. "Unfortunately, I'm not on her level of forgiveness," Leone added before adjourning sentencing until Nov. 13.
During the sentencing, both Canzano and Adsit acknowledged the difficulty of the case, as well as Leone's concerns, but continued advocating for a sentence of probation.
"If Kadesha walked away from this crash uninjured, I'd be the first person advocating for prison," Adsit said Tuesday. "Prison is not the answer to this case."
Adsit also shared that Benjamin-Noreault, who lost her 2-year-old daughter, was "very vocal and angry" that they wanted to prosecute Dunham, as she saw it as an accident and felt "somewhat responsible" as she encouraged Dunham to pass the truck.
Canzano added that Dunham's lack of expression of remorse is a function of her injury from the accident.
"I'm remorseful for what I've done, it was a stupid decision," Dunham said on Tuesday.
After hearing from both sides, Leone said he was still "on the fence" and asked to hear from Cayuga County Probation Supervisor Kelly Murphy.
Murphy said that the needs of the defendant and the needs of the victims trying to heal are clear.
"Right now the defendant is living in her own prison, mentally and physically," Murphy said, adding that sending her to prison wouldn't help anybody.
Leone said this was one of his most difficult cases in his 12 years serving as the Cayuga County judge, and that he was taking into account all Dunham's medical needs, the lives lost, the reality that prison would not mean more control over Dunham and the fact that he'd been "begged" to sentence her to probation.
"It is with great reluctance that I will go along with the recommendation of the people," Leone said before sentencing Dunham to five years of probation.
