Weaver arraigned in deaths of 2 people

CANTON — Amanda A. Reeve's life changed forever just outside the village of Gouverneur as she and her family were returning home from a day of shopping in Watertown.

"I saw a truck coming head on," Mrs. Reeve said. "I tried to tell my husband, but by the time I did, it was too late."

Nearly a year after the accident on Route 11 near Gouverneur Bowl that killed her husband, James D. Reeve, 30, and 4-year-old son, James R., the Gouverneur teen that caused the accident was arraigned Tuesday in St. Lawrence County Court.

Kramer R. Weaver, 18, of 537 Route 11, pleaded innocent on charges of two counts of criminally negligent homicide, both felonies, and a single count of failure to keep right.

He is accused of being under the influence of the muscle relaxant cyclobenzaprine when his 1999 Jeep Cherokee crossed into the opposite lane about 8 p.m. Oct. 1, 2007, and hit a 1988 Dodge Colt van driven by Mr. Reeve.

Mrs. Reeve, who was in the front passenger seat, and the couple's 6-year-old daughter, Angelina M., who was in a child restraint seat behind her mother, both survived.

"It hurts every day of my life," said Mrs. Reeve, who married James on May 10, 2001. "He was a wonderful man."

It pains her more knowing she won't be able to watch her son board the school bus.

"He didn't even get a chance to go to school," Mrs. Reeve said. "He loved every day of his life. He was a wonderful boy."

State police said after the crash that Mr. Weaver didn't have a prescription for the medication.

Defense attorney Gary W. Miles said after court that Mr. Weaver wasn't under the influence of drugs at the time of the accident. He noted the indictment returned by a grand jury didn't include driving while ability impaired charges.

County Court Judge Jerome J. Richards released Mr. Weaver to probation supervision, with several conditions including no drugs or alcohol and a ban on entering bars or taverns. Mr. Weaver also had his driver's license suspended.

"I don't know if there will ever be closure to me, I hope there is, but I don't think there will be closure," Mrs. Reeve said. "I hope he goes to jail for life."