Family of teen killed in Clinton crash organizes protest

CLINTON — The driver in a one-car automobile accident Feb. 9 that killed two teenagers and a 12-year-old in Clinton is expected to plead guilty next month, and the family of one of the victims is demanding justice and planning a peaceful demonstration this Saturday.

The family of Tommy Porfirio said it plans to gather at 9 a.m. outside the home of Timothy Silva, 17, in Fairfield. Silva was driving the car in which Porfirio and two young sisters were killed.

The gathering is intended to show solidarity and to push the court to hand down the maximum punishment to Silva for his involvement in the crash that killed Porfirio, 15, and Emily and Ashlin Baker, 14 and 12, respectively.

Nevaeh Wilson, 12, suffered minor injuries in the crash.

Ashlin Baker, 12, left, Emily Baker, 14, and Thomas Porfirio, 15, were killed Feb. 9 in a one-car crash on Hinckley Road in Clinton. Contributed photos

“We’re going to peacefully protest in hopes that the court and the judge see that we need justice for Tommy, and for (Ashlin and Emily), too,” said Stephanie Carver, whose daughter, Destyni Chase, was Tommy Porfirio’s girlfriend. “He did an adult crime. He should have to do the adult time.”

Carver and the Porfirio family has created a Facebook page called “Justice For Tommy” that has about 60 followers.

Carver created an event page for the gathering on which she has emphasized the demonstration Saturday is to remain peaceful.

“We are to stay on public property, also use CDC (Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention) guidelines when it comes to COVID,” Carver wrote. “Remember why we are doing this. … To spread awareness and that we want justice for Tommy as well as the girls.”

Silva was arrested in June and charged with three counts of vehicular manslaughter, reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon and driving to endanger causing serious bodily injury.

Silva was held at the Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland until being released June 9 into his mother’s custody.

At a hearing June 9, police presented a 24-hour timeline leading up to the crash that was compiled through firsthand accounts from local residents.

Chief Stanley “Rusty” Bell of the Clinton Police Department said Silva, who did not have a driver’s license, took his mother’s 2007 Toyota Corolla at about 2:15 a.m.

Silva and the four juveniles drove the area, including Waterville, where they stopped at Walmart, drove up Interstate 95 and ended up at the Big Apple in Fairfield.

The crash occurred at 7:16 a.m. when the car slammed into a tree on the Hinckley Road.

The three youths were dead when rescue workers arrived, and Wilson was trapped inside the car.

Wilson and Silva were treated for injuries at Maine Medical Center in Portland.

Tony Porfirio, father of Tommy Porfirio, center, and others engage police June 9 after families of accident victims exchanged words with supporters of Timothy Silva outside Waterville District Court after a detention hearing for Silva. Silva was the driver of a car that crashed, killing Tommy Porfirio and sisters Emily and Ashlin Baker. About 30 people gathered outside the courthouse wearing shirts in support of Pofirio. A photograph of Tommy Porfirio is on the front of his father’s T-shirt. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel Buy this Photo

Carver and the Porfirios are upset with Silva’s apparent attitude following the crash.

“There has been no remorse,” Carver said in a telephone interview Thursday. “Joking with his friends about it, he deserves the max, for sure.”

At the June 9 court date, Bell said he read Silva’s posts on social media from the day of the crash.

“After the crash,” Bell said, “I viewed social media posts saying that he’s got the keys and wants to go for another ride — and promises that he won’t crash this time.”

Bell also said Silva had tried to “get his story straight” with Wilson at the scene of the crash and the hospital.

“(A witness) told me that (Silva) asked her if he could get a ride and if he could use her phone,” Bell said June 9. “She said that (Silva) had gone to the living victim that was trapped inside of the car, and she characterized it as getting their story straight, or that kind of thing.”

Carver said her daughter logged onto Tommy Porfirio’s Snapchat account the night of the crash and viewed similar messages and posts from Silva, which were submitted to police for evidence.

Silva is expected to plead guilty at his next court appearance, scheduled for Nov. 20, according to Maeghan Maloney, district attorney for Kennebec and Somerset counties.

“We are expecting that he will plead guilty and be sentenced at his next court appearance, but he is able to change his mind,” Maloney wrote Wednesday in an email.