Guilty plea, prison stint provide little solace for dad of crash victim

Willie Littlefield looks at a poster of his daughter, who died in a car crash on Feb. 27, 2016.
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The father of a young woman killed in a 2016 crash takes little solace from the driver pleading guilty for the crash — or the more than 22 years he’ll spend behind bars.

“There is no equity, no redemption, no winners here,” said Willie Littlefield, whose daughter Michelle was one of three killed in the 2016 crash.

“I can’t say I’m happy. I can’t say I’m satisfied,” he said Monday.

“My daughter is not here,” he said, his voice changing on the phone.

“We’re starting at ground zero. We are still devastated,” he said, referring to himself and his wife.

“I haven’t dealt with the pain, yet,” Littlefield said, noting this despite his attendance in group counseling, family counseling and more.

“I know I haven’t dealt with it. One day there’s going to be a big emotional crash, when I get there,” he said. “Little by little, I’m starting to comprehend.”

On Feb. 27, 2016, Dealio Lockhart raced his Dodge Challenger with another driver on Interstate 5 in Commerce, causing a chain-reaction collision that killed Littlefield’s 19-year-old daughter Michelle and Brian Lewandowski, 18, both of Valencia, and Scott Treadway, 52, a UPS truck driver from Mira Loma.

Littlefield and Lewandowski were passengers in a Nissan with two other young people who were critically injured.

All four occupants of the Nissan were employees of Six Flags Magic Mountain returning from a trip to Disneyland.

On Friday, Lockhart, 35, admitted “all crimes charged in an 18-count amended complaint for a negotiated term of 22 years, 4 months,” Deputy District Attorney Michael Blake said.

Lockhart is scheduled to be formally sentenced on April 12.

The amended complaint against Lockhart alleged the following crimes:

Three counts of vehicular manslaughter.

Four counts of engaging in a motor vehicle speed contest on a highway causing a specified injury.

10 counts of assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury.

There are a few issues, according to Littlefield, that need to be dealt with.

“We need the MAIT Report ASAP,” he said, referring to the detailed accident reconstruction prepared by the California Highway Patrol, called the Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team.

“That will shed some light,” he said.

“My understanding is the vehicles involved in the crash will soon be released. Perhaps we could ask the DA and (California Highway Patrol) to allow us to see the vehicles before the vehicles are released out of the protective environment.”

Littlefield said he is already preparing his victim impact statements in time for Lockhart’s sentencing.

“I will be attacking not only Dealio, but the Dodge, the ‘Fast and Furious’ franchise, Vin Diesel and his Brotherhood of Muscle, and the overall street racing lifestyle,” he said.

“We are hoping that the DA, Michael Blake, (L.A. County Sheriff’s Department) and the CHP make a press conference that will send a message to the street racers — too many people (are) still being killed or hurt,” he said.

Lastly, Littlefield said he wants to thank Blake and the law enforcement community.

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