The parents and friends of a law student who was killed by a drunk driver in Pacific Beach watched as the 18-year-old man charged with the crime pleaded guilty Aug. 23 to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and hit and run resulting in a death.
The judge told Daniel Scott Hall that he faces a maximum of 11 years in state prison and a $20,000 fine as a result of his guilty pleas. Hall admitted to causing the death of Christopher McCallister, 25, who died several hours after he was struck by Hall’s car on Garnet Avenue near Haines Street June 24 at midnight.
There were tears on both sides, as the victim’s parents, sister and friends wept openly while Hall, also emotional, stated his pleas before San Diego Superior Court Judge George Clarke.
Hall, who turns 19 on Sept. 2, was dressed in jail garb and looked more like a juvenile than an adult.
Prior to the incident, Hall worked at a market in Point Loma and had planned to go to college this fall. He remains in the George F. Bailey Detention Facility on $200,000 bail.
Sentencing was set for Nov. 6, at which time Hall could receive as little as one-year jail time with probation if given the minimum sentence.
“The sentence for making the decision to drink and drive is truly minimal when it takes another life,” said Gerri McCallister, the victim’s mother.
McCallister added that it was “hard to hear” the words acknowledging her son’s death by Hall’s actions.
“I feel like he’s accepting responsibility, but it doesn’t make Chris come back,” said Gerri McCallister. “It’s another reminder to people to not drink and drive.”
Christopher McCallister was a second year law student at the University of San Diego. He worked for a commercial lending firm and was a law clerk at a local law firm.
“He was kind, intelligent, happy, and beautiful. He had an exciting future and a million friends,” said his mother.
He was with friends when he was hit by the car, which didn’t stop and fled the scene after the crime. Another motorist followed the vehicle and notified police, who pulled Hall’s car over on Interstate 5 near the Sea World exit.
“We had 25 wonderful years,” said his father, Chris McCallister.
“Chris was a special guy,” said his friend, Shaun Schmidt.
The judge noted there was no sentencing agreement with prosecutor Makenzie Harvey, who did agree to dismiss two additional counts of drunk driving, which might not have increased the potential sentence. Hall pleaded guilty early in the case before a preliminary hearing was even held.
The case has brought grief on Hall’s family as well. His father, Peter Hall, wrote a letter to a judge in hopes his bail could be lowered. Hall’s mother needs a caretaker to help her dress, prepare her meals, and give her insulin after suffering “cognitive impairments” from diabetes, according to the letter. Hall had performed those tasks for his mother, but the family has since had to hire a caregiver in his absence, Peter Hall wrote.
Hall’s attorney, Scott Williams, asked another judge to lower the original $250,000 bail to allow Hall to serve as his mother’s caregiver, but the judge only lowered it to $200,000.