Family of teen killed in wreck speaks in court on tragedy's toll

A trip to the grocery store is no easy task for Michele Aichs.

Her daughter, Sydney Aichs, often wanted to go right after watching a cooking show, ingredient list in hand, Michele Aichs said in court Tuesday. But leaving the Aichs home in the Forest Lakes subdivision involves driving through the place where Sydney Aichs died in a car accident in spring of 2008.

Kenneth Barbour, now 55, was driving the tractor-trailer that hit Sydney Aichs’ car on the morning of May 9, 2008. Before the Waynesboro man was given an active prison sentence of two years on Tuesday in Albemarle County Circuit Court, the Aichs family and a friend shared how their lives have changed since Sydney was killed.

On the morning of the accident, Clinton Aichs said two police officers showed up at his door.

“They said, ‘Mr. Aichs, there has been a terrible accident,’” Clinton Aichs said in court. “For the 14 months since then, I have heard those words every hour of every day.”

The loss of their daughter has taken a toll on the marriage of Clinton and Michele Aichs, whose partnership has stayed together “only bound by love,” Clinton Aichs said in court.

“It’s a little bit better now, but it’s not what it once was,” Clinton Aichs added.

Sydney was waiting in the left-turn lane at a red light on Ashwood Boulevard and U.S. 29 before the crash occurred. At the same time, Barbour was driving his normal route for the Staunton-based Don B. Swisher Trucking Corp. northbound on U.S. 29.

Authorities have said the traffic light at that intersection had a five-second yellow light on U.S. 29 and a delay of two seconds on Ashwood before the light turns green for the subdivision’s traffic.

Barbour has told authorities that he saw the light on U.S. 29 turn yellow as he was going through the intersection, but he didn’t see it turn red.

Jon R. Zug, assistant commonwealth’s attorney, said in court that the evidence doesn’t coincide with Barbour’s account.

“Seven seconds is a long time,” Zug said in court, referencing the timing of the lights at the intersection. “He had a sight distance of 1,200 feet. As much as Mr. Barbour wants to believe this didn’t happen, he was remiss in his duties as a driver.”

Public Defender Jim Hingeley said in court that his client doesn’t remember the seconds before the accident, from which Barbour emerged uninjured.

“In his mind, he cannot come to grips with the fact that he ran this red light,” Hingeley said in court.

Ahead of her years

Clinton and Michele Aichs said in court that their daughter was both a typical teenager and a young woman “clearly years ahead of where she should have been in life,” Clinton Aichs said.

Sydney attained success in soccer only after a lot of practice as an uncoordinated child. Her father said that schoolwork never came easy to the National Merit Scholar, and she was prone to leaving her studies behind temporarily to help a friend in need.

Clinton Aichs told the court Tuesday that his daughter would challenge those around her to be better people.

“She would say things to people that would alter your life,” he said.

At the same time, Sydney Aichs was a 16-year-old. Some days she showed her mother love, Michele Aichs said in court, and some days she called her “silly and stupid and ‘you’re a dork.’”

Despite the trying times of parenting a teenager, Michele Aichs said she had been approaching the time when Sydney would become a friend as well as her child. Now the mother said she’s having trouble letting Sydney’s brother, 18-year-old Kyle Aichs, have room to become a man.

A fear of Michele Aichs’ is Sydney’s memory fading away in the minds of the community beyond the speed limit reduction, early flashing lights and rumble strips that now grace the area near U.S. 29 and Ashwood Boulevard. Susan Walker, a family friend, said in court that she knows people haven’t forgotten their friend and community member because she has seen stickers bearing Sydney Aichs’ player number, 17, on cars all over town.

“My kids point them out to me in every parking lot,” Walker said in court.

Packed courtroom

More than 30 supporters of both Sydney Aichs and Barbour packed the upstairs courtroom of the Albemarle Circuit Courthouse on Tuesday, forcing Zug to open a rear door and set up chairs in the next room over.

Clinton, Michele and Kyle Aichs sat on the bench closest to the prosecutor’s table.

“It’s tough to see the three of them sitting there and know that someone is missing,” Walker said in court.

Barbour pleaded guilty in April to involuntary manslaughter and reckless driving. Under the state statute, he could have faced up to 10 years on the manslaughter charge and up to 12 months in jail on the driving charge.

Zug recommended that Barbour be sentenced to 10 years in prison with eight years suspended. Hingeley requested a sentence of one year and eight months, which is the midpoint of the sentencing guidelines for this case, to be served in the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail’s work release program.

“He’s a good family man who has contributed to the community,” Hingeley said in court. “I ask that you place this case in context.”

Hingeley said in court that Barbour’s previous criminal history consists of a 32-year-old assault conviction. The public defender said Barbour has had a steady work history, although he currently is unemployed. He served in the military for a short time before being honorably discharged for a physical problem and has been an umpire for local sports programs.

Higgins ruled that putting Barbour on the work release program would be in contrast to the jail’s guidelines.

The judge sentenced Barbour to 10 years in prison with eight years suspended on the manslaughter charge and a $500 fine and a suspended six-month jail sentence on the reckless driving charge. Barbour will serve a year of supervised probation, be expected to be on good behavior for 10 years and have his driver’s license suspended for six months.

Before Higgins pronounced Barbour’s sentence, the defendant rose and offered an apology.

“I know that I hurt a lot of people,” Barbour said in court. “I hope maybe one day the Aichses will find it in their hearts that they will forgive me.” Barbour choked up. “I know I can’t forgive myself, but I hope my family will forgive me and the Aichses will forgive me … I’m so sorry.”

Civil suit progresses

The Aichs family filed a $15 million lawsuit in October against Barbour, his former employer and McCann Delivery Service Inc. alleging that Barbour didn’t brake or honk his horn while going through the intersection. The suit also claims that the brakes on the trailer, which drivers are supposed to check during a pre-trip inspection, weren’t working.

J. Gregory Webb, the attorney representing the Aichses in the suit, said he will be taking Barbour’s deposition in the case on Friday.

“I look forward to exploring what did happen,” Webb said.

The case is set for a two-day trial starting Nov. 12 in Albemarle Circuit Court.