from johnny hoover's mother, my heart is broken. i can only feel rage and despair. he has taken everything from me. spencer datt's father described it as a scab that has begun to heal and is rimmed off and starts to bleed -- ripped off and starts to bleed and from haeley mcguire's brother, i am filled with rain and hopelessness. kevin coffay is -- rage and hopelessness. kevin coffay is an irresponsible coward who left my sister to die at the side of the road in the wreckage. kevin coffay will be eligible for parole after serving five years. >>> turning to campaign 2012, for the second time this week a republican presidential candidate is making pointed comments about blacks and welfare. slate magazine reports during a campaign appearance today newt gingrich promised the crowd if he is elected, he would go to the naacp convention and tell the african american community why they should demand paychecks instead of food stamps. other online reports say the race reference was not prompted by the question gingrich was asked. you may remember earlier this week rick santoru

from johnny hoover's mother, my heart is broken. i can only feel rage and despair. he has taken everything from me. spencer do the's father described it as a scab that -- spencer datt's father described it as a scab that begins to heal, is ripped on and starts to breathe and from haeley mcguire's brother, kevin coffay left my sister to die in the wreckage at the side of the road. he's a coward. reporter: andrea mccarren, 9 news now. >>> coming up tonight at 7:00, welfare seems to be becoming a hot top nick campaign 2012. tonight one -- topic in campaign 2012. tonight one candidate is raising eyebrows with his comments targeting one part of that population. we'll talk about that at 7:00 on 9 news now. >>> later in this hour he drives a car for a living, but will he much longer? peggy fox introduces us to virginia's newest lottery millionaire. >> much milder today and even milder air is on the way. we'll tell you what goes in the books. we hit 50 at national today, low temperature much better unanimous 17 yesterday, low only 30, average -- than yesterday, low only 30.

reporter: among the dead john any hoover, spencer daft -- johnny hoover, spencer daff. kevin coffay fled the scene and never called for help for his dying friends in. court he described it as pure shock and terror. i can't believe i didn't stay at the scene. through tears coffay told the courtroom words cannot do justice to the shame and guilty feel every day. this is doing nothing but eating me alive inside. >> kids get out. they drink. they drive and someone dies and yet we've cut out all the dare programs in the schools. reporter: the judge made her decision after heartbreaking pleas for justice from the victim's family members, from johnny hoover's mother. my heart is broken. i can only feel rage and despair. he has taken everything from me. spencer daft's father described it as a scab that has begun to heal and is ripped off and starts to bleed and from haeley mcguire's brother i am filled with rage and hopelessness. kevin coffay is an irresponsible coward who left my sister to die in the wreckage at the side of the road. >> when something like this happens, it's n

those who died in the crash were johnny hoover, spencer datt and haley maguire who languished in the wreckage for four hours. >> when something like this happens, it is not an accident, it is a crime. >>> under the law, coffee could be eligible for parole after serving only 5 years of his sentence. >>> they crossed the line into cruelty by shooting a puppy not once but three times. >> i am sorry we have to go through this. >> that is lynette she helps run a rescue operation for abused or unwanted golden retrievers, these animals have the run of the place on a fenced in farm and yesterday, lynette went looking for little heidi and found her body. now she fears for the other pets as well as the staff. >> i am no longer feeling safe. we took the dogs out and i was petary fied someone would take a shot at us. >> lots of people are investigating this case frederick animal county control, sheriff department and they have a key piece of evidence that could lead to the culprit one of the bullets fired at the little dog. >>> it appears occupy dc protestors need the clean up their act today th

the 18-year-old spener debt t, haeley mcguire and johnny hoover died. >> it was not an accident. it was a crime. >> reporter: the 20-year-old is looking at spending the next two decades behind bars. >> we are changing culture. i think this is as stiff a sentence as i can recall in a automobile sentencing case. >> reporter: two hours of emotional statements of friends and family. some in attendance spoke after the hearing. >> there's so much pain and hatred in the courtroom. >> justice is a definition of punishment fitting the crime. those people are going to live with that forever. >> reporter: weighing heavily, he alluded police for hours. his son would not have left his friends had the rolls been reversed. the judge didn't believe he was a bad person, but a reckless person. the prosecutor said he could do that best after he served time. coffay will be eligible for parole after serving five years. conditions of probation are extensive. he has to attend alcoholics anonymous meetings five times a week and have a vehicle fitted with a driving device where they blou into a device. h

the mother of johnny hoover reminded the judge that kevin coffay had shrugged off earlier alcohol violations and on may 15th was a self-centered coward who worried only about himself when he left his dying friends at the accident scene. a tearful coffay apologized saying that night was a blur and he now feels guilty and ashamed of his conduct. coffay got 20 years from the judge and five years' probation afterward with tight alcohol restrictions. prosecutors got the stiff sentence they requested. >> the state hopes that if there's any good that can come of this event is that the young people will think twice before getting behind the wheel of a car after having been drinking. reporter: kevin coffay will have to serve at least five years before becoming eligible for parole. tension in the courtroom was high as spectators listened to the arguments for and against the tough sentence. >> i don't think there were any winners anywhere. i think this was a horrible loss for everyone. there was so much pain and hatred in the courtroom it was palpable. i don't think there was a right answer any way. th

the mother of johnny hoover reminded the judge that kevin coffee shrugged off earlier alcohol violations and on may 15th was a, quote, self- centered cowward who worried about himself. when he left his friends. a tearful coffee apologized saying that night was a blur and feels guilty and ashamed of his conduct. coffee got 20 years from the judge and five years probation afterward. prosecutors got the stiff sentence they requested. >> the state hopes if there is any good to come of this event is that the young people will think twice before getting behind the wheel of a car and after driving and drinking. >> he will have to serve five years before becoming eligible for parole. tension in the courtroom was high as spectators listened to the arguments for and against the tough sentence. >> i don't think that there were any winners anywhere. i think this was a horrible loss for everyone. there was so much pain and hatred in the courtroom, it was palpable. i don't think there was a right answer anyway. the young man suffered. he was suffering. the families were suffering, too, and i guess jus

blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit. 18-year-old haley maguire and spencer datt and johnny hoover died in the crash. one passenger survived. coffey ran away without checking on his passengers or even calling for help. >>> you'll want to look at the screen for this. d.c. police have released a sketch of a sex assault suspect. police believe a man matching this artist depiction kidnapped a woman and then attacked her right in front of her child. the attack happened december 29th, a week ago today. the woman was stopped in traffic about a block from verizon center when a man jumped into her car. she says he sexually assaulted her at gunpoint all with her 1- year-old child in the backseat. the man eventually let them both go. >> today, fema will open a new disaster recovery center on courthouse road in spotsylvania county. and reopen one in louisa county. people who sustained damage in the august 23rd earthquake two months from today to apply for federal assistance. meanwhile, the department of transportation is also helping recover repairs from tropical storm lee. by giving the commo