Gittens receives year in jail for traffic death of 18-year-old
SUV with teenage passenger crashed into a tree in 2005
By Joann Groff joann@theacorn.com

Sean Michael Gittens of Thousand Oaks was sentenced last week to one year in jail and five years' probation in connection with an auto accident that killed Krystin Shank, 18. Shank, who was a passenger, died on Oct. 17, 2005, when Gittens lost control of his SUV and it crashed into a tree.

In May, Gittens, 19, pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter, two counts of reckless driving and driving with a suspended license.

Although Ventura County Superior Court Judge Bruce Clark began by calling the crash "an accident," pointing out that alcohol was not involved, he went on to give Gittens the maximum, 365 days in county jail followed by 60 months' supervised probation.

According to police, Gittens was driving his 1996 Ford Explorer southbound on Westlake Boulevard at around 80 mph in the rain when he lost control of the vehicle. The SUV jumped the median and hit an oak tree in the center divider. Shank was killed on impact.

At the time of the crash, Gittens was on probation for a juvenile offense and was wearing an electronic ankle bracelet, police said.

Arthur Norris, the deputy district attorney handling the case, said he was satisfied that Gittens got the maximum amount of jail time and probation.

"No amount of time in jail will ever make up for what he did to that family," Norris said. "He may not have intended to kill Krystin, but he did intend to drive like a maniac in an SUV on a curvy road in the rain. Thanks to him a child was killed and a family was destroyed."

More than 15 of Shank's friends and family came to hear the sentencing, filing in together and dotting the courtroom with purple, her favorite color.

In the hallway outside the courtroom, Gittens' attorney, Angelyn Gates, told the defendant's family that Gittens would be making a statement.

"Our goal is not to minimize their loss," Gates told Gittens' mother and other family members. "Sean needs to take responsibility for his actions. It will make a big difference for the judge."

Gittens' mother cried in the moments before she accompanied her son inside the courtroom. The family's other attorney, Gina Tennen, tried to comfort her.

"Hopefully he will learn and grow from this," Tennen said.

A family also sentenced

Shank's mother, father, brother and sister all addressed the court.

"It's taken the way we view the world," said Krystin's sister, Andrea Sievers, who married six months after Krystin's death. "It's taken away our security. Krystin was our baby sister. Now we have to live our lives knowing we couldn't protect her on that day."

Krystin's mother, Gayle Shank, was accompanied by her exhusband, Don, the teen's father.

"That day Sean took a big part of our family," Gayle Shank said through sobs. "We face every day with pain in our hearts. We wonder every day how we are going to make it through our lives."

Don Shank spoke sternly to the judge.

"On Oct. 17, 2005, my family was sentenced . . . to a prison of loss and grief, of sorrow," he said. "Our daughter's life was taken in a senseless matter. We, as a family, have already served 19 months."

Gittens sat at the table with his attorneys, often with his head in his hands, listening as Shank's relatives spoke. Some members of the Gittens family had said they were planning to speak, but in the end, it was only Sean Gittens who gave a statement.

"I wish I could take it all back, take back that day, but I can't," he said. "I have to live with that. That, to me, is like prison itself. To me, it's like living in hell."

Gittens then turned away from the judge and addressed Krystin's mother, who was seated a couple of rows back.

"I am extremely remorseful to the family," Gittens said. "I want to say I'm sorry, something I've never been able to do. Gayle, I'm sorry. . . . I loved her as much as you did."

Krystin's brother, Daniel, left the courtroom abruptly during Gittens' speech. Gayle Shank said her daughter had only known Gittens for about one month and never got the opportunity to see "who he really was."

While out on bail for the vehicular manslaughter charge, Gittens was convicted of commercial burglary and sentenced to 60 days in jail. Judge Clark ruled that he serve the sentences consecutively.

After the sentence was delivered, Gittens was cuffed and taken away. Shank's family and friends gathered outside the court to thank prosecutor Norris.

"I've never had any experience with the legal system, and I was very surprised how it works," Gayle Shank said. "The criminal has the majority of the rights. It was extremely painful, and it ends up consuming a big portion of your life. Not only are you trying to deal with the pain of losing someone, but you have to deal with the pains of the legal system.

Emily Sperling, 19, came to the court with friends. Krystin was her first friend when she moved from Hidden Hills to go to school at Agoura High School, Sperling said.

"I can never really be satisfied because I don't have my friend here anymore," Sperling said. "This won't make up for her loss. But it's such a relief that her mother can start moving on and concentrating on life."

Sperling echoed the sentiments of many close to the Shanks- that perhaps Gittens' family should have taken his keys away, given his poor driving record.

In the months before the accident, Gittens, a 2005 graduate of Westlake High School, received five moving violations. Last July, he crashed a Honda Civic into a tree in Thousand Oaks, but according to police, there were no injuries.

'. . . what my life is now'

"Most parents have no idea really that someone can go out there and kill their children and only get 12 months in county jail," Gayle Shank said. "I just want parents to take their kids' driving very seriously. They are not only putting themselves at risk, but innocent kids at risk. . . . I would hate to see anyone else go through what I have.

"I don't know what my life is now," she said. "Everything I ever knew to be true for my future is not there. I don't know what to make of that."

Shank has recently been sharing her daughter's story at school programs addressing the risks of teen driving.