Providence Journal video / Andrew Dickerman
Family and friends of crash victim Sullynette Sanchez protest at the Traffic Tribunal, where Benjamin Servideo faced traffic charges after he crashed into the car Sanchez was driving in East Greenwich.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A Newport man accused of causing a car crash that killed a pregnant mother and her baby pleaded guilty Thursday in traffic court to failure to maintain control and failure to drive at the right speed given the weather conditions.
An additional charge of following too closely was dismissed.
Benjamin Servideo, 24, is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 26, when the relatives of Sullynette Sanchez are expected to speak to the court on the loss of Sanchez and her baby, Daryel Noah Bustamante, who was delivered after the crash but died two weeks later.
Relatives for both Sanchez and Servideo packed the courtroom Thursday along with seven Rhode Island State troopers and a priest.
Sanchez's relatives complain the charges against Servideo are too light.
The state police say that narcotics and/or alcohol were not factors in the September crash in East Greenwich, and with the assistance of the Rhode Island attorney general's office, they determined that the crash did not rise to the level of criminal recklessness.
-- The original version of this report was published at 9:47 a.m. and updated at 10:42 a.m. and 4:32 p.m.
Providence Journal photo / Andrew Dickerman