Woman who hit jogger, left scene, gets one and a half to three years in state prison

Joyce Howard is escorted from the courtroom by bailiffs after her sentencing in Strafford Superior Court today. (Rochester Voice photo)

DOVER - Saying her actions caused "terrible consequences" and her court testimony "lacked credibility," Strafford Superior Court Judge Daniel Will today sentenced a Rochester woman to one and a half to three years in state prison for striking - then running over - a jogger in October 2021.
Joyce Howard, 70, of Mcduffee Street, showed little emotion as she was escorted from the courtroom by bailiffs following sentencing.
Also in the courtroom were family and friends of Matt Lefebvre, who suffered multiple serious injuries in the October 11, 2021, crash, which occurred as he was jogging a little before 6 a.m. at the corner of Mcduffee and North Main Street.
During a victim's statement Mat Lefebvre of Rochester spoke passionately about the horror he and his family have had to endure in the wake of the crash, which left him with nine broken ribs, a broken sternum and clavicle, a punctured lung, nerve damage to his left side and a severe laceration that went from ear to ear on top of his head that took 25 staples to stop the bleeding.
Lefebvre told the courtroom that due to his injuries, especially a rib that didn't heal correctly, he can play few recreational activities because if he falls he could be "permanently paralyzed or worse."
He said the accident has also caused his two children to have emotional issues.
During sentencing Will thanked Lefebvre for his testimony during the sentencing hearing and on the stand during the February trial.
During the trial Howard testified that after her 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe came to a stop at the corner of Mcduffee and North Main, she looked left and fell asleep. She said when she woke up a few seconds later she was on nearby Twombly Street and realized that she was heading to get some blood drawn. She said she didn't remember hitting anyone.
Lefebvre, an avid jogger who had a strobe light on his head as he was jogging south of the North Main Street McDonald's, said he saw the Hyundai come to a stop sign and remain stopped. He then arced out to the right and began to cross, when the vehicle suddenly accelerated as he was almost three quarters of the way across the front of the car.
During the trial he testified that when the car hit him it knocked him to the ground.
"I hit the ground and landed on my right shoulder and my temple," he said under questioning from Strafford County Assistant Attorney Emily Conant Garod. "I thought to myself, 'Holy crap, I just got hit by a car.' It could've been much worse. I knew my shoulder was injured. I had been pushed into North Main Street. But now I'm partially in the path of cars. Then I hear the (SUV accelerate). I laid as flat as possible and yelled, 'You gotta be kidding me.'"
Lefebvre said as the car lurched forward over his body he felt such excruciating pain that it conjured images of his wife and three young boys as he feared the worse.
"It was like a wave, I could feel my bones popping and crunching," he said, his voice breaking. "I thought about my wife and kids ... I was under the car and knew the back wheel would be coming at some point. And it did. It went just above my butt and my head was being dragged across the pavement. I thought my head was going to rip off."
After the sentencing defense attorney Stu Dedopoulos asked the judge to consider an appeal that would keep Howard out of jail during the appeal process, but Will declined and said she was to stand committed, prompting cries of anguish from her family, friends and co-workers who were there to support her.

Howard's prison term on the assault charge will run concurrently with a one to three year sentence for leaving the scene.