CLINTON, Maine — The teenager charged in a deadly Clinton crash that happened back in February is expected to appear in court Tuesday, June 9.
Timothy Silva, 17, of Clinton will go before the Waterville District Court at noon for a detention hearing. He was arrested and charged last Thursday, June 4 with three counts of vehicular manslaughter, reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, and driving to endanger causing bodily injury.
Three teenagers lost their lives in that crash while Silva was driving -- 14-year-old Emily Baker, her 12-year-old sister, Ashlin Baker, and 15-year-old Thomas Porfirio. Only Silva and another 12-year-old female survived.
Following an investigation, police said that Silva did not have a driver's license at the time of the crash. The group apparently got together around 2:15 a.m. on February 9 for a drive that lasted about five hours. It ended on Hinckley Road, about two miles from downtown Clinton, when Silva's car apparently struck a patch of ice and then hit a large tree.
For the greater Waterville community, the past few months have been tough. Destyni Chase of Fairfield is a teenager who was dating Porfirio at the time of the crash. She says that life hasn't been the same since.
"It changes everything," Chase told NEWS CENTER Maine via Zoom.
Her mother, Stephanie Carver, also of Fairfield, has noticed changes in her daughter, too. She says Destyni has had a difficult time coping after the traumatic event -- but she is grateful Destyni wasn't one of the people in the car that morning.
"It's a feeling that I don't wish upon anybody, seeing her hurt the way she has been," Carver explained. "It just completely breaks my heart."
Esther Dudley lives in Waterville and has known Porfirio's mother for years. She created the 'Justice for Tommy' Facebook page in an effort to gather evidence for officials, by encouraging people to share social media posts, etc. that may provide more clarity into the details of the hours leading up to the crash.
"All any of us have wanted to see is some justice happen and for these kids not to be forgotten -- and not to have this case kind of swept under the rug because the driver was a minor," Dudley told NEWS CENTER Maine via FaceTime. She added that she plans to be at the courthouse Tuesday. So do Chase and Carver.
For Dudley, the events of February 9 -- that changed everything for her close friend's family -- are still hard to believe.
"When I heard what had happened I just thought, 'This cannot happen to them because they've just -- everything they've ever done is for their kids, for their family," Dudley shook her head.
Chase wears a locket around her neck. It has a picture of Porfirio on it and is filled with his ashes. Carver says it's a good reminder of who the teenager was.
"He was a good boy that liked my crappy cooking," Carver laughed. "I miss him a lot, I do."
Silva is being held at the Long Creek Youth Detention Center.