A man who struck and killed a 16-year-old boy walking at night in a crosswalk in Long Beach was sentenced Friday to six months in county jail.
Superior Court Judge Sean D. Coen also ordered Kevin Chris Dahl, 35, of Lakewood, to perform 30 days of community labor, two years probation and a driver’s safety course, despite opposition from the victim’s parents to the plea deal.
Dahl pleaded no contest Jan. 23 to a felony count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence in connection with the Sept. 4, 2021, crash that killed Millikan High School senior Aiden Tai Gossage.
Deputy District Attorney Samantha Borghi told the judge that Dahl had been driving 10 to 20 mph over the posted speed limit.
Dahl was initially arrested that night on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter and driving while intoxicated, but authorities determined there was not sufficient evidence to prove that Dahl was intoxicated or impaired at the time of the crash, the prosecutor said.
The judge — who said what happened was “an absolute tragedy” that he will never forget — said he doesn’t have control over when Dahl will be released by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. But he noted that the probationary term “will be hanging over the defendant’s head” and that it is “imperative that the probation is successfully completed.”