Ballston Spa

Reckless. Distracted. Drunk.

On Dec. 1, 2012, the night he smashed his Volvo sedan into the back of a Ford Explorer carrying four teenagers on the Northway, Dennis Drue was all of the above.

On Friday, Drue became something else: Convicted.

Three days before his high-profile trial was set to begin in Saratoga County Court, the 23-year-old driver from Halfmoon abruptly agreed to plead guilty to the entire 58-count indictment he faced in the horrific crash that killed Shenendehowa high school seniors Christopher Stewart and Deanna Rivers, both 17, and severely injured Shen junior Matt Hardy and Bailey Wind, a Shaker High School senior. The crash was about a mile north of the Twin Bridges.

In a courtroom packed with police, media and relatives of the victims, Drue agreed to spend the next 5 to 15 years in prison for the night his lethal combination of boozing, speeding and text-messaging destroyed families across Saratoga County and beyond.

In an unusual twist, his guilty pleas were not endorsed by Saratoga County prosecutors. Because Drue pleaded guilty to every charge he faced, the office of District Attorney James A. Murphy III was effectively removed from the plea bargain negotiations.

Murphy said prosecutors will ask for a harsher sentence for Drue when he is sentenced at 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 5 by County Judge Jerry Scarano.

Stewart was the boyfriend of Wind. Rivers was Hardy's girlfriend.

For Wind, Drue deserves more time behind bars. On Twitter Friday, she remarked: "5 to 15 years doesn't bring my god damn boyfriend and best friend back #restinpeace."

Wind, despite her devastating injuries, is now diving at the University of Tennessee. Hardy, a three-sport star, is once again playing football — and just scored a touchdown on Shen's opening day. Stewart had been captain of the football team. Rivers played softball.

Stewart's mother, Regina, watched the guilty plea wearing a green Shen T-shirt with her son's name and football number 69 on its back. Wind's mother, Dawn, wore Stewart's jersey. Rivers' father, Brian, stood feet away as did the family of Hardy.

The families of the victims declined to comment on Friday.

Drue risked up to 25 years behind bars if convicted at trial of charges that included manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, assault, vehicular assault and driving while intoxicated. It was a case with wide publicity — Drue had hoped for a change of venue and was denied.

Murphy said he believed the denial of the request for a venue change was among the factors that led Drue to plead guilty.

He admitted his guilt at what was scheduled as a pre-trial hearing. Murphy explained he only learned of the possibility of a resolution to the case on Thursday. Drue's attorneys met with Assistant District Attorney James R. Davis, the lead prosecutor, in the judge's chambers that day.

Murphy said he was prepared to go to trial and was somewhat shocked to learn of Drue's decision.

On Friday, in a cracking voice, Drue repeated the word "guilty" to the series of charges.

Once the pleas were final, Murphy revealed incriminating evidence prosecutors had against Drue — including a new witness who had been receiving text messages from the defendant as Drue drove up the Northway to meet the person on Dec. 1. That person was ready to testify as were other witnesses who saw Drue drinking heavily earlier that night in Koto, a Japanese restaurant in Colonie. Those witnesses, who did not know Drue, were so concerned over his alcohol consumption that they approached a friend of Drue in the restaurant to make sure Drue had a designated driver, Murphy told reporters.

Drue drank four shots of alcohol, gin and tonics and beers at the restaurant, Murphy said, as his prosecutors, State Police and the victims' families stood behind him.

"We thought that that was very compelling evidence in any case if a jury heard that," Murphy said. "To me that tells you that total strangers — who don't even know somebody — felt uncomfortable enough to worry about the condition of this person, to think that if he is driving we're all in danger."

Drue had claimed to police that he barely had one drink and had struck a patch of black ice before the crash. Prosecutors said this was proven untrue.

Alcohol was found in Drue's blood along with extremely high levels of an active byproduct of marijuana, Murphy said. He said Drue was driving at least 80 mph, well above the speed limit.

Prosecutors and police stressed that none of the victims had done anything wrong in the crash. None drank any alcohol or used drugs, Davis said.

"They were doing the speed limit in the right-hand lane and they were crushed from behind by the defendant, Mr. Drue," Davis said. He held a photo of the four youths, all healthy and enjoying the night, taken hours before the crash at the Siena-University at Albany men's basketball game the victims attended together.

Murphy said he believed Drue displayed no remorse after the crash — showing more concern for his car than the lives he had just destroyed.

Drue's attorney, Steve Coffey, told the Times Union he was prepared to counter evidence at trial of Drue's marijuana and alcohol use in addition to other scientific evidence presented by prosecutors. But he admitted witnesses, such as the ones at Koto, could have been damaging to his client at trial.

Coffey said potentially "overwhelming" evidence influenced Drue's decision, as did "the fact that we had to try this up in Saratoga County."

He questioned why prosecutors were offering his client a 5-to-15 year plea deal as recently as early August.

"Why is an offer then so inherently unfair and unjust now?" Coffey asked. "And I'll tell you that's exactly the judge's view of it ... that offer of 5-to-15, that number was the DA's number."

Coffey added: "There isn't one part of that indictment that he didn't plead guilty to. What more do you want?"

Drue is free until his sentencing, which Murphy opposed. He said he considered the pleas a complete victory for his office in a devastating case.

"When you combine the alcohol, the (marijuana), the texting, the speeding and all of those things combined," Murphy said, "it is no doubt that something like this was going to happen. As a result we had four completely innocent kids suffer unspeakable consequences."

rgavin@timesunion.com • 518-434-2403 • @RobertGavinTU