THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 11, 1995 TAG: 9501110441
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LYNN WALTZ, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long : 138 lines
A year after her loss, Gail Salzberg can no longer drive past her son's high school. She cannot see a group of teenagers without seeking out Andrew's face.
Her son will never have a first date, she told a judge in an impassioned letter. He will not see his dream of going to law school come true.
``I have had to try and close myself off as much as possible from the world around me,'' she wrote.
On Jan. 2, 1994, Steven T. Hartsock, drunk on rum and Cokes at 7:50 in the morning, broadsided the car in which Andrew, 14, and his father were riding. Charles Salzberg, 54, died instantly. Andrew was airlifted to a hospital, where he died five days later.
On Tuesday, Hartsock, a 23-year-old Navy machinist's mate, received the maximum sentence of 10 years each on two counts of involuntary manslaughter. The sentences will run consecutively for a total of 20 years.
But for Gail Salzberg, the punishment is not enough.
``Before the morning of January 2, 1994, we were a family of five. Now I am all alone,'' Salzberg told the judge in a letter. ``Although I have two other children, they are grown and live away. . . . Since my husband was my sole source of support . . . I have to give up my home . . . where my son Andrew grew up. He was not just my youngest - my baby, he was also my companion.''
Hartsock originally was charged with two counts of aggravated involuntary manslaughter, carrying a sentence of 20 years on each count. Salzberg believes he should not have been allowed to plead guilty to the lesser charge.
``Please do not lose sight of the fact that Steven Hartsock is a criminal,'' she asked the judge. ``All I ask is for this punishment to fit his crime.''
Hartsock never denied his crime. After he got off work about 3 a.m. as a bouncer at the Greenwell Inn on Little Creek Road, he went on a drinking binge and then got behind the wheel of his Ford Mustang.
From work, he went to Squires after-hours club on Little Creek Road, where he had four beers and two rum and Cokes. About 6 a.m., he drove to Poppa's Pub at Shore Drive and Diamond Springs Road, where he had two more rum and Cokes.
Hours later, his blood still showed an alcohol level of 0.22, more than twice the legal limit.
Hartsock was on his way to a friend's home on Willoughby Spit when, at 60 to 70 mph, he lost control of his car rounding the curve on the exit ramp from Diamond Springs Road onto Northampton Boulevard.
His car began to fishtail on the wet roadway. It would be the last thing he remembered.
About 7:50 a.m., Charles and Andrew Salzberg were traveling south in the 5700 block of Northampton Blvd.
Charles Salzberg was vice president of Salzberg Insurance Agency in Norfolk. His son was a ninth-grader at Maury High School who played Little League baseball. Andrew, an avid baseball card collector, was on his way to a trading card show where he planned to put $2,500 worth of trading cards on sale in his booth. The collection was Andrew's hobby, an interest his father encouraged and helped with, often going with him to shows.
The two never saw Hartsock coming, witnesses said. He smashed into the passenger-side door, the Mustang crushing three feet into Salzberg's Cadillac. Hartsock's car spun to the right in a 180-degree turn, hit the curb sideways and began to roll. Hartsock, who was not wearing a seat belt, was thrown from the car just before it hit a power pole.
Charles Salzberg died from a lacerated aorta as a result of severe impact of the seat belt on his chest. Andrew Salzberg died of a ruptured spleen and fractured skull.
Hartsock lost a front tooth.
``I can't remember the wreck at all,'' he told officers later. ``I can't remember a thing about that accident. It's just like a f------ black spot.''
It was not the first time Hartsock had a problem with alcohol or drugs. He was arrested in Pennsylvania for drinking when he was 16. He joined the Navy right out of high school. Hartsock also was arrested in Virginia Beach last year and charged with possession of marijuana; the case is still pending.
It was among many things Judge John K. Moore would take into consideration, among them letters from friends and family of the victims.
A colleague of Hartsock's told the judge he also had information that the judge should use in his sentencing decision.
``I have in the past nine months not witnessed any remorse whatsoever in this young man,'' Hartsock's supervisor, Tommy C. Collins, wrote in a letter to the judge. ``He gives the impression of a happy-go-lucky guy without a care in the world; in fact he has stated that he was sick and tired of not being able to plan anything because of this case.
``I have been struck by the seeming lack of feeling and concern that Steven has displayed throughout this entire matter. One would think that he was the victim of this tragedy.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos
Charles Salzberg, 54, and his son Andrew, 14, were killed by a
drunken driver, Steven T. Hartsock, in January 1994.
Graphic
A PLEA FOR A TOUGHER DUI PENALTY
A letter to the court written by Gail Salzberg, whose husband and
son were killed by a drunken driver.
Before the morning of January 2, 1994, we were a family of five.
Now I am all alone. Although I have two other children, they are
grown and live away.
Just that very day I was to pick up a resume because I was going
to start looking for a job in my new career. Two weeks before I had
completed my studies to receive my degree as a paralegal. Now,
after I have seen first-hand how the law really works, I have no
desire to enter the legal profession. And since my husband was my
sole source of support (as well as my children's), it has been very
difficult for me to take care of myself.
My husband Charles was always so generous to me and our children.
He was the most honest, selfless, and hard-working person I ever
knew. A whole community grieved when his life was taken away so
tragically. His death is felt by so many besides my children and
myself. He did not deserve to have it all end so indignantly, and I
feel that it is owed to him that justice is done.
Because there was no mortgage insurance and it is such a
financial burden, I have to give up my home. And I am having a
really hard time dealing with this. This is where my son Andrew grew
up. He was not just my youngest - my baby, he was also my companion.
For fourteen years he was always with me and now he no longer
exists. He never went on his first date; he'll never get to go to
law school like he wanted; he'll never get to do any of those things
we all take for granted. Andrew was such a special boy and I have to
live with the loss of him every single say. I cannot stand it that
my son is just a memory now. I can't drive past a school, walk in
the grocery store or a mall, be around children without searching
for his face and always feeling this terrible loss. I have had to
try and close myself off as much as possible from the world around
me.
It is my hope that you will sentence Hartsock for the crime he
committed, not the plea bargain he obtained. He knowingly, wantonly,
and with total disregard for human life killed my husband and my
son. . . . Please do not lose sight of the fact that Steven
Hartsock is a criminal. All I want is for his punishment to fit his
crime.
Gail Salzberg
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT TRAFFIC DRUNKEN DRIVING FATALITIES
ARREST TRIAL SENTENCING by CNB