Drug Addict Sentenced To Life In Fatal Carjacking At Burger King
PONTIAC (WWJ/AP) - A 39-year-old woman has been sentenced to life in prison for carjacking a pickup truck at an Oakland County Burger King and killing the 76-year-old owner as he tried to stop her.
Ruth Pozdol apologized Wednesday to Clifford Van Haywald's family before her sentence was handed down in Oakland County Circuit Court.
"No words can express how remorseful I feel. I can't replace or change anything I did, and if it were my family, I'd feel the same way. I love my grandfather and kids and miss them, too," Pozdol told the court, according to a report in The Oakland Press. "I'm sorry. My kids now live without their mother. My husband lives without his wife. ... I know it's no comparison, because I'll be able to see (family members), but I'm sorry."
Pozdol, of Walled Lake, was convicted last month. Police have said she snatched keys from Van Haywald on Jan. 18 and crushed him under the tires when he tried to stop her from driving away from the Waterford Township fast-food restaurant.
Pozdol, who had just walked away from a drug treatment center, drove the pickup to Detroit, sold it for $200 and bought heroin.
Van Haywald suffered a broken collarbone, 12 broken ribs, dislocated vertebrae and spinal cord injuries in the fall, which resulted in his death, according to the Oakland Press. He was a regular customer at the Burger King where employees called him "Pops."
Officials say Podzol, a mother of two, has a history of narcotics abuse.
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