A man charged in connection with a four-car accident that took place at the intersection of Route 17 and Dare Road in September 2014 pleaded guilty to third or subsequent offense of driving under the influence, driving on a revoked license and misdemeanor assault and battery in York-Poquoson Circuit Court on Thursday.
Noel Thomas Wakelyn Jr., of Yorktown, will serve 11 years in prison with all but two years suspended. Wakelyn will remain on probation for up to 10 years upon his release.
Wakelyn entered into a plea deal with the prosecution in which he entered an Alford plea – indicating the defendant maintains his innocence but also recognizes the evidence against him is sufficient for the court to find him guilty – to those three charges. In exchange, the prosecution dropped or reduced other charges he faced.
The misdemeanor assault and battery charge to which Wakelyn pleaded guilty was a reduced version of the DUI maiming charge he originally faced. The prosecution also dropped one hit-and-run charge against him as part of the plea deal.
Wakelyn was driving a 2005 Chevy Silverado southbound on Route 17 around 11 a.m. Sept. 14, 2014, when he crashed into a 2005 Nissan Altima stopped at red light at the intersection of Dare Road.
The impact from the collision pushed the Altima forward into the intersection, causing it to hit a 2002 Acura RSX hatchback that had been turning left onto Grafton Road.
Wakelyn’s vehicle overturned from the impact and struck a 2015 Ford F250 in the adjacent lane, according to the police report. Wakelyn and the driver of the Altima were transported to Riverside Regional Medical Center for injuries.
Medical records taken at Riverside indicated Wakelyn had a blood alcohol level of between .14 and .16 at the time of the crash, as well as narcotics in his system.
