Courtney Sipes parents speak about lost child

Hours before she was killed by a hit-and-run driver who was high on heroin, 11-year-old Courtney Renee Sipes of Smithtown had dreamed of her upcoming first trip to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, her mother said Wednesday.

Now, Thanksgiving and other holidays are troubling reminders of Courtney's tragic death on Nov. 24, 2009, Lavena Sipes said.

The mother spoke before Maureen Lambert, 21, of Stony Brook, was sentenced in Suffolk County Court to 4 to 12 years in prison for causing Courtney's death.

"We will never truly have a merry Christmas. We can only hope for peaceful ones," Lavena Sipes said, with her husband Tracy and son Cameron, 15, by her side.

"On every occasion that should be celebratory, we will be visiting her grave."

The family's recollections of Courtney - they remembered her as a precocious artist and singer with a gift for songwriting - capped an emotional case that drew attention to the surge of heroin use on Long Island.

Courtney's death also spurred safety measures on Main Street in Smithtown, where she was killed as she crossed the busy highway with her mother and brother.

Lambert had bought and taken heroin within an hour before striking Courtney with her sport utility vehicle, Suffolk prosecutors said. When she pleaded guilty in October, Lambert admitted that she was on heroin and driving 60 mph - twice the posted 30 mph speed limit - when she struck Courtney, and that she then fled the scene.

But before she was sentenced Wednesday, Lambert told County Court Judge Stephen Braslow she was not using heroin when she hit the girl. The retraction could have scuttled a plea bargain reached by prosecutors and her attorney, Donald Silverman of the Legal Aid Society.

Before Braslow could throw out the plea deal, Lambert, prompted by the judge and Silverman, admitted being high while driving.

Later, Lambert told Courtney's parents she was "sorry for the loss of your daughter."

Choking up as she read from a prepared statement, Lambert added, "I know that a million sorrys will not make things change."

She faced the judge, and away from the Sipes family, throughout the hourlong sentencing hearing.

Lavena and Tracy Sipes were mostly composed during the hearing. Tracy Sipes dabbed his eyes with a tissue as his wife addressed the court.

The visibly distraught father could not deliver his own statement, which was read by Assistant District Attorney Carl Borelli.

"You may say you are sorry. You may be sorry you got caught," Tracy Sipes' statement said. "But you had better shout loudly for Courtney to ever hear you from her grave."

Lambert pleaded guilty in October to second-degree manslaughter, second-degree vehicular manslaughter and other charges. She admitted waiting 26 hours before surrendering to police.

If she had been convicted at trial, Lambert would have faced a maximum of 5 to 15 years in prison.

A state board will decide when to release her from prison. Braslow said he will recommend that Lambert serve 12 years behind bars.

"It doesn't end," Braslow said, referring to alcohol- and drug-related traffic fatalities on the Island. "When are people finally going to wake up and realize they can't do this anymore?"