Teen Spared Prison In Crash That Killed Spring Valley Man

Andrew Bellatti, 19, a former star baseball player at Steele Canyon High School, and current minor league pitcher in the Tampa Bay Rays farm system, was sentenced Friday to five years probation and 240 days in jail, stemming from a Jan. 22 car accident that took the life of David Norman Reid, 50, of Spring Valley.

Bellatti pleaded guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter charges last month.

Deputy District Attorney Curtis Ross said that a case like this would normally warrant prison time, but that Bellatti was spared prison because of the wishes of "a very, kind and compassionate family." According to Ross, Lynette Reid, the victim's widow, did not want to ruin the teen's life.

''There shouldn't be different scales of justice for athletes who dangle money,'' Ross said.
A civil lawsuit over the crash was settled, with terms not disclosed. Based on several comments made in court, it appeared the financial arrangements could depend on whether the defendant eventually scores a lucrative baseball contract.

The accident occurred in January on a rain-slicked Campo Road near Steele Canyon High School in Jamul. According to testimony in previous hearings, Bellatti was driving his girlfriend, a player on the Steele Canyon girls basketball team, to a game that she was late for in Santee.

Witnesses said that Bellatti was driving 70-80 miles per hour, when he crossed the double-yellow lines into the opposite left turn lane to avoid another car. When he swerved back into his lane, he lost control of his Ford Mustang and crashed head-on into a van that was driven by Reid.

Reid's 17-year-old son, Garrett, also suffered multiple broken bones in the crash, but has since recovered.

"It was a poor decision and he regrets it to this day,'' defense attorney Patrick Hall said of Bellatti.

Judge Peter Deddah, who was presiding over the case, said that if Bellatti commits even a minor traffic offense during his probation period, he will be sent to prison.

Bellatti was a 12th round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Rays in 2009. He compiled a 2-5 record and 4.04 ERA with the Princeton Rays of the Appalachian Rookie League this summer. 

City News Service contributed to this report.