Cleveland driver sentenced to 35 years for crashing stolen truck into bar - cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio – A 27-year-old Cleveland man was sentenced to 35½ years in prison Monday for crashing a stolen truck into a bar, badly injuring 13 people. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Deena Calabrese imposed the sentence on Brandon Pawlak after hearing from victims of the crash and their relatives talk of lingering physical pain and mental anguish. "Drivers like yourself don't care about the safety of other people, what they care about is themselves, and that's what you cared about that night. That included aggravated robbery, aggravated vehicular assault, failure to comply with the orders of a police officer, grand theft, and breaking and entering. Pawlak stole one vehicle early on the morning of Oct. 23, 2014, then stole another truck from the Sweetbriar Golf Club in Avon Lake around 8:30 p. m. the same day. Police were called to the golf club and chased Pawlak in the stolen white Ford F-250 pickup at high speeds for five minutes through Avon and Westlake. A police officer threw "stop sticks" on the road, and Pawlak eventually lost control and the truck careened into the Dover Gardens Tavern. Bethany Capasso, a dental hygienist who worked as a bartender at Dover Gardens once a week, said after Monday's court hearing that the truck crashed through the walls, shoving the bar on top of her and another bartender. Source: www.cleveland.com
