“Every day I think of Margaret and Robert Large ( both 66 years old) and and all that I took from them,” she said in a letter to the judge. “The hardest thing I had ever experienced was the death of my mom and in one moment I took both parents from two young men.”
The hearing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Thursday in Warren County Court.
On July 22, The Larges’ minivan and a lumber company truck ended up in the yard in front of Patton’s Lodge, a business west of Waynesville. The truck apparently continued over the sedan and — while straddling the two lanes after being forced left of center — collided with the minivan, while a forklift broke loose from the back of the truck and tumbled down the road.
Williamson and his employer, Carter Lumber, declined to comment. The Larges’ family has not commented.
On Tuesday, Montgomery’s lawyer, Charles Rittgers, filed a 40-page memorandum, appealing to Judge Gary Loxley for leniency.
In her letter to Loxley, Montgomery said she was driving south on Township Line Road with the windows up, air-conditioning on and listening to directions being given to her verbally through a GPS system.
“I do not know why I missed the stop sign at the Ohio 73 intersection,” she said.
The Larges were driving west toward Mt. Vernon, Ind., where they had moved back to after living and working in the Springfield area for decades.
Montgomery, a math, physics, science teacher with two children attending college, promised to give back to society in her victims’ memory.
“I have to give back for myself and for Mr. and Mrs. Large, as well,” she concluded the letter.
Friends and co-workers recalled Montgomery’s contributions as a tutor and student advisor to the junior class, as well as Market Day and a foreign exchange student program at the school in Washington Courthouse, Fayette County.
The letters also noted the toll on Montgomery and her family.
“Since that awful morning, some of the light has gone out of my dear friend’s eyes,” Roberta Evans, teacher and friend living in Xenia said.
Other letters indicated the depth of Montgomery’s guilty feelings.
“I’m certain she would rather have died herself than to cause harm to another human being,” wrote Laura Hottinger, a teacher and friend living in Bloomingburg.
Belinda Jenks, a friend and colleague living in Jeffersonville, suggested the crash was the result of a short lapse like those many people are guilty of on any given day.
“I strongly feel that it is something that could happen to any of us at any time and that we have all had momentary lapses in awareness which could cause us to be in the same situation,” wrote Jenks.
Since the crash, Montgomery has been driven to work and elsewhere by her husband, a former Washington Courthourse police officer, according to the letters.
“Their family dynamics have been changed forever,” Jenks said.
Robert Large, a retired colonel in the U.S. Air Force, also worked for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. Margaret Large was a homemaker and quilter. They had multiple hobbies, including bird watching. The couple was married on Aug. 22, 1969 and had three children, including a daughter who is deceased, according the Large’s obituary.
Montgomery is expected to plead guilty as charged to two counts of vehicular homicide. She faces up to six months in jail, a $1,000 fine and drivers license suspension on both charges.
The prosecutor, Anne Tamashasky, said jail was unlikely in light of Montgomery’s cooperation and lack of a prior record.
Tamashasky also noted the case was different in light of the video of the crash taken from a home surveillance camera near the intersection.
“You very seldom have a video of a horrific crash like that,” Tamashasky said.
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