Officer Yung Crash: Driver Sentenced to Community Service

A 70-year-old Gainesville woman will perform 200 hours of community service after pleading no contest to misdemeanor reckless driving in the crash that killed Prince William County Police Officer Chris Yung. 

Judge Richard Potter also sentenced Margaret Luecke to a 12-month prison term, with all time suspended. She will remain on probation during that time, have to pay a $2,500 fine and court costs, and her license is suspended for six months. 

Luecke looked down, wiping away the tears from her eyes, as Prince William County Police Officer Joel Lewton read a statement summarizing the events that took place the afternoon of Dec. 31. Yung was responding to an unrelated incident, when Luecke turned in front of his motorcycle. 

Luecke did not see Yung until it was too late, both the defense and prosecuting attorneys agreed. 

"It was really a tragic accident and I've been grieving for the Yung family since the day," Luecke said outside the courtroom. She choked up as she added, "And I just can't talk anymore about it."

Luecke, the wife of a retired admiral, mother of four and the recipient of the Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Award, had no prior criminal or traffic record before the incident. She was on her way to the nail salon with her daughter when she turned left on a green light at the intersection of Piper Lane and Nokesville Road. 

Yung had his lights and sirens on, and was traveling between 72 and 80 mph when Luecke's 2001 Dodge Caravan turned in front of him, Lewton testified. Inside the Dodge Caravan, Luecke's daughter screamed at her to stop, but it was too late. Evidence at the scene indicated that Yung also saw the crash coming: he was leaning to the side, trying to stop, when his motorcycle crashed. He died of blunt force trauma to the head. 

In sentencing Luecke, Potter said that the accident affected "not one but two lives," and the accident would "in all probability haunt her for the rest of her life." 

"The state would not be served by her going to jail," Potter added, agreeing with prosecutors, who had recommended that Luecke serve no jail time. 

Some of Yung's family members declined to speak after the sentencing, but Commonwealth's Attorney Paul Ebert said that they did not dispute the recommendation.

"They agreed that jailing was probably not in the best interests of justice," Ebert said. However, they are considering a civil suit, he said.

He called Luecke "truly grief-stricken," but added that the charge against her was warranted. "It's reckless. She definitely should have seen what other people saw. But it didn't rise to the level of manslaughter."