Family of crash victim still seeking justice one year later

CHARLOTTE — The family of a man who died last year after being hit on his motorcycle don’t believe he will ever get justice.

Darren Lee Marshall died after being by hit by driver Roy James Jackson.

Jackson took a plea deal on Thursday. Channel 9′s Erika Jackson is heartbroken by the news. They were inside the courtroom yesterday. His girlfriend told Jackson she was shocked to hear Jackson took a plea deal that will require him to spend 30 days in jail.

Marshall’s girlfriend, Mackenzie Cruell remembers spending every night with Marshall. She knew something was off when his phone went to voicemail on March 3rd.

“He wasn’t responding to my texts or calls, but he always did,” Cruell said. “Something just told me to walk up the hill from our apartment and that’s when I just saw these blue lights.”

CMPD said Jackson was impaired at the time of the crash.

“He killed an amazing person. And my life has been completely flipped upside down,” Cruell said.

Cruell said she was hoping to get justice at Jackson’s arraignment. However, he will serve 30 days in jail and two years of probation without driving on a reduce charged of involuntary manslaughter.

“We just feel like his life to them did not matter,” Cruell said. “However, his life mattered to us. I feel like they believe that the defendants life matters more than DJs.”

Cruell told Jackson she wants to be Marshall’s voice and continue to fight for justice.

“Something has to change, or someone else is going to experience this tragedy as well,” Cruell said.

“Days for a life,” Britt Marshall, Darren’s mother’s said. “That is what I have a problem with.

Below is a spokesperson the district attorney’s office sent to Channel 9.

“Everyday we come into contact with the extraordinary grief that families experience when the lives of loved ones are taken as a result of crime. Our obligation is to seek the best outcome within the limits of the law and available evidence. This remained true through the conclusion of Mr. Jackson’s case, as the resulting sentence at a potential trial could have been even less substantial than what was secured by plea. While this outcome is consistent with the facts and the law, we know the family of Mr. Marshall will never be made whole by his loss, no matter the disposition in criminal court.”

Jackson’s lawyer said he made his statement in court and has no further comment.

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