A man found guilty of killing a 13-year-old girl in a drunken driving crash in Pembroke, Massachusetts, was sentenced to life in prison Thursday.Gregory Goodsell, 36, was under the influence of drugs and alcohol on Dec. 29, 2019, when he sped through a red light in Pembroke and struck another car. Claire Zisserson was killed in the crash.”My world changed. The day that Claire was killed,” her mother, Elizabeth Zisserson said.Elizabeth Zisserson and Claire’s 13-year-old friend were seriously injured.”One day Claire was here, and the next she was gone forever,” said Ken Zisserson, her father. “Our table of four is now three. Our house is quiet as a tomb. The colors of our world are dull,” Elizabeth Zisserson said. Police said Goodsell admitted he was leaving a company Christmas party and had been drinking and using cocaine prior to the crash.According to Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz’s office, Goodsell left the party at approximately 6:40 a.m. in his company-issued “Hi-Way Safety Systems, Inc.” white Ford F-250 truck, and struck a nearby tree, breaking his passenger side headlight. “Through evidence and witness interviews, investigators determined that Goodsell was intoxicated with a BAC of 0.266, under the influence of cocaine, and passed through a red light at 67 m.p.h. before broadsiding the Subaru,” Cruz’s office said.At the time of the crash, inside Goodsell’s vehicle, police located a bottle of whiskey, a beer can, two small alcohol bottles, marijuana and a pipe, according to Cruz’s office.”Because of my out of control mindset and chaotic behavior that entire night, a young lady with a bright future ahead of her is no longer alive,” Goodsell told the court. Goodsell was found guilty of one count of murder in the second degree, and one count each of motor vehicle manslaughter while operating under the influence and leaving the scene of a crash with property damage. Goodsell was additionally found guilty of two counts of operating under the influence causing serious bodily injury in relation to injuries sustained by Claire’s mother and friend.”Please help me keep him from ever doing this again,” Elizabeth Zisserson told the judge. “He can watch the sunrise every day, but Claire won’t ever see another sunrise. And we won’t ever escape the devastation of losing Claire.””When someone says, ‘I can’t even imagine,’ I reply, ‘You shouldn’t have to. It’s not natural,'” Ken Zisserson said. Goodsell is eligible for parole after serving 20 years. “If you choose to drink and drive, if you choose to take drugs and drive like this individual drove, if you’re here in our county, at least, we will prosecute you on this second degree homicide,” Cruz said. “And when you’re convicted, you’ll get significant time in jail.”

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