When Nathan H. Delgros is sentenced on two charges related to a Sept. 22, 2018, crash between his ATV and a motorcycle driven by Charles Costea of Masury, Delgros could be sent to jail or prison, be fined, be subject to probation after the period of incarceration, and will be assessed restitution.
Whatever sentence Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Judge Ronald J. Rice hands down, it will be “a slap on the wrist,” said Costea’s daughter, Nicole Costea Watkins.
“Nathan Delgros has destroyed our lives,” she said.
Delgros was driving the wrong way on the ramp linking Routes 82 and 62 in Masury, said Ohio Highway Patrol. He pleaded guilty Oct. 3 to aggravated vehicular assault and failing to stop at an accident.
Costea had been in a coma for about two weeks following the crash when a doctor asked Watkins if she wanted the plug to be pulled on her father, Watkins said.
“They explained to me that he would never be the same person, and would require 24-hour care,” she said. “They also asked me if he would want to live like that for the rest of his life. I couldn’t pull the plug, I just couldn’t. Having lost my brother and sister, I just couldn’t imagine going through another loss.”
promoMore than a year later, as she deals with caring for a quadriplegic with traumatic brain injury, “I question myself daily, wondering if I did the right thing,” Watkins said. “Seeing my dad live like this and seeing what he goes through on a daily basis, makes me feel really selfish. I know he wouldn’t want to live like this. This just has been so devastating.”
Costea, 64, of Masury, “thinks that he still works (he retired in 2012), and asks why my dead brother and sister don’t come to visit him,” Watkins said. “He has no recollection of them passing. He is really confused and severely depressed, and also requires 24-hour care.”
That care falls on the shoulders of Watkins and her mother, Costea’s ex-wife.
“Before this accident, he was completely independent and was always on the go,” Watkins said. “This has not only completely ruined his life, it has also ruined mine as well. He was a complete normal human being before this happened, and now has the mentality of a child.”
Delgros could be incarcerated 6 to 18 months on the assault charge, and 6 to 12 months on the failure to stop charge. His sentencing has been set for Nov. 7 before Judge Ronald J. Rice, who accepted the plea.