Huron County man gets prison for Turnpike crash that killed 2 men

A Huron County man was sentenced to 12-to-15 years in prison and his driver's license suspended for life for killing two in a crash on the Ohio Turnpike. A truck driven by 33-year-old Zachary Santoro of Bellevue hit two men as they unloaded watercraft from a disabled truck and trailer on the side of the toll road in July 2020. Eric Ackerman, 44, of Sandusky and a tow truck driver for Interstate Towing of Norwalk, and Darren Hebner, 45, of Mentor, were killed in the crash. Santoro, who suffered only minor injuries, had a significant amount of methamphetamine in his system at the time of the crash, according to the Lorain County Prosecutor's Office and the Ohio State Highway Patrol. Santoro was on probation in Huron County at the time of the crash, and that resulted in a probation violation that earned Santoro a four-year prison sentence. Defense attorney Kenneth Lieux, who was appointed to represent Santoro on the Lorain County charges, asked Betleski to take that situation into account at sentencing. He made no sentencing request during the hearing. Santoro waived his right to be in the courtroom for sentencing, and instead watched the hearing on a live video feed from the Lorain County Jail. He declined to make a statement. Santoro pleaded guilty to seven total charges including felony aggravated vehicular homicide, misdemeanor DUI and drug possession charges in October. Assistant Prosecutor Matt Kern asked Lorain County Common Pleas Judge Mark Betleski to sentence Santoro to the maximum: 16-to-20 years in prison, and strip him of his driver's license for life. Kern read two victim impact statements to the court on behalf of Darren Hebner's family members. Alexandra Hebner wrote that she wanted someone from the prosecutor's office to read her statement for her because "I want nothing to do with the defendant" who killed her husband, she wrote. "I don't want to see his face or even be in his presence. The defendant has taken enough of my life and I don't want to give him any more," she wrote. Santoro "is what nightmares are made of. His continued existence makes me physically sick." "You have destroyed a life and a family yet you are still able to live out your day to see the sunshine, leaves change and snow covering the ground: Everything that Darren is no longer able to do or share with us," Alexandra Hebner wrote. She recounted how her husband didn't come home on time that night and how two highway patrol troopers came to her house to deliver the news that he was dead. Alexandra Hebner then had to wake the couple's children to tell them Darren Hebner was dead, and drive to his mother's house to finish delivering the bad news, she wrote. "You will plead your case to the judge that you are sorry for what you did that day or remorseful for the hurt you have caused, but in reality, you are only sorry for yourself because your freedom has been taken away," Alexandra Hebner wrote to Santoro. "If you truly cared you would not have made the decision to get behind the wheel of a car under the influence of alcohol and drugs all while you were out on bond because of another criminal case." "As you are not remorseful, I am not merciful," she wrote. "There is no amount of prison time that will heal the loss you caused or allow me or my family to feel whole again." Darren Heber's stepson Alexander Moses said the summer of 2020 started off filled with baseball and traveling but "came to a screeching halt" the day he found out his stepfather died. The anticipation of a fun summer with a man who had been in his life since he was 3 years old changed, Moses wrote. After Darren Hebner's death, Moses wrote that he had to grow up faster and assume more responsibility around the house to help out his mother and sister, all while also focusing on a job, school and sports. "I didn't appreciate all he (Darren Hebner) did for me while he was here," Moses wrote. Darren Hebner's son Brandon told Betleski that though his parents were divorced, his father always was present in his life — often driving 90 minutes from Sandusky to Mentor to pick him up for visits — buying him school clothes and football cleats and helping Brandon Hebner escape an unhappy home life with his mother. He said his father was his "best friend" and that he was sad never got to meet his grandson, born after Darren Hebner's death. "I never got the closure," Brandon Hebner said. "That's the thing that affects my life the most." Santoro was high on methamphetamine behind the wheel of a 2009 Chevrolet 2500 pickup in the eastbound lanes of the Turnpike in Henrietta Township on the night of July 21, 2020. Darren Hebner's 2011 Ford F-350 was pulling a trailer with two Jet Skis on it that were gifts for his son when it broke down on the right shoulder of the Turnpike. Ackerman was helping Darren Hebner unload the jetskis when Santoro's truck hit them and Ackerman's tow truck. Ackerman and Darren Hebner were killed. Santoro's truck went airborne and landed on its roof in the right lane, but he suffered only minor injuries. Santoro currently is serving a four-year prison sentence after being convicted of having weapons under disability, breaking and entering, felony theft, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and drug possession charges in Huron County in October 2020. That sentence ends in July 2024. After that, Santoro will serve out the remaining prison term from Lorain County. Ackerman's estate sued Santoro, Santoro's mother and several insurance companies in common pleas court last year. The lawsuit was later settled. Ackerman was described in court as a loving father and uncle who built model cars and who deserved justice. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @DaveOBrienCT.