Woman gets probation in fatal hospital crash

Elderly driver's license revoked

BROCKTON - An elderly woman who killed two people when she crashed her car into a hospital in October was sentenced to 18 months of probation after pleading guilty yesterday in a case that helped spark new interest in laws regulating senior drivers.

Jane Berghold, 77, of Rockland will also lose her license to drive for 15 years after pleading guilty to two counts of homicide by negligent operation of a motor vehicle and one count of negligent operation of a motor vehicle.

Family members of those killed in the accident said the outcome of the case was appropriate considering Berghold's age and medical condition. But her guilty plea holds her responsible for the accident, and she should no longer be able to drive, they said.

"I want everyone to remember how this has impacted a family," said Mark Plante of Carver, whose mother, Susan, was killed.

Susan Plante, a 59-year-old oncology secretary from East Bridgewater, and Dr. Mark A. Vasa, 58, Brockton Hospital's chief of radiation therapy, were at the reception desk of the hospital's radiation therapy unit when Berghold's car smashed through the front doors, pinning them against the wall. Vasa was killed instantly, and Plante died later that night. Two others were seriously injured.

Berghold told police that she hit her brakes after taking a turn and that the car kept going. But she later said she could have hit the gas by accident, and a police investigation showed the car sped up to 25 miles per hour over the 83 feet between the right turn she took and the glass doors.

Berghold, a breast cancer patient, told police she had received shots at a facility in Weymouth to boost her white blood cell count that morning and that she was undergoing chemotherapy. She said, however, that her medications in no way affected her driving. She had a driver's license for more than 40 years, and her only infraction was a minor violation more than 15 years ago. After the accident, the district attorney's office had her license revoked for medical reasons.

Her lawyer, Kevin Reddington of Brockton, said the guilty plea helps bring closure to a case that, had it gone to trial, "would have been very traumatizing for everybody involved."

He said Berghold will work with the Vasa family in a civil case by giving a deposition. She is not required to do so under the guilty plea, he said, but "she just feels badly and wants to help the estates in any way she can."

The lawyer representing Vasa's wife, Brad Greenberg of Brockton, said Berghold will be dropped as a defendant in the civil case if she gives the deposition. He said Vasa's wife will still pursue a civil case against a defendant, but he would not elaborate, saying the suit is still in its early stages.

Greenberg said his client supports the disposition of the case but that Berghold shouldn't have been driving in her condition.

The accident was one of several in recent months that renewed interest in laws regulating senior drivers.

One bill before the state Legislature sponsored by Senator Brian A. Joyce of Milton would require drivers over 85 to take vision and road tests every five years.

"I think it's time to take another look at the measurement of competency levels as drivers age, so that when people are behind their desks at work, they can presume, accurately, that they are safe," Mark Plante said.

Jeanine Adams, a 48-year-old radiation therapist who suffered a broken femur and other injuries in the accident and has had two surgeries, said the state should look at elderly drivers, perhaps beginning younger than 85.

"It would be the best tribute to Dr. Vasa and Sue," she said. "They spent their lives saving people, and maybe in their deaths they'll be saving people, too."

Milton Valencia can be reached at mvalencia@globe.com.