ST. LOUIS — A 23-year-old man driving nearly 60 mph over the speed limit was found guilty Wednesday of first-degree involuntary manslaughter for crashing into a pickup truck in south St. Louis, killing the truck's driver.
Mahdi Salah Gayar, who was 17 at the time of the incident in December 2017, was driving a 2008 Maserati GranTurismo on Gravois Avenue near Kings Drive at nearly 90 mph when he hit a Chevrolet Silverado being driven by Daniel Domian. Domain, 62, was turning onto Kings Drive from Gravois Avenue near his home on Rhodes Avenue when he was killed.
The four-lane stretch of Gravois Road where the crash happened is lined with both commercial and residential properties.
Gayar has a history of traffic violations throughout the St. Louis area, including multiple speeding violations, careless and imprudent driving, failure to yield to an emergency vehicle, driving without a license, driving without insurance and driving with expired license plates, according to prosecutors.
“This bereaved family had to wait six years for justice,” Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore said in a statement. “It is our hope that this outcome will finally give them closure.”
Jurors did not convict Gayar on one count of armed criminal action.
St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Clinton Wright will sentence Gayar in January. He faces up to seven years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.
A wrongful death lawsuit filed against Gayar by Domian's family in 2018 was settled for $325,000.
The MSRP for a base model 2008 Maserati GranTurismo was $113,450, according to Kelley Blue Book.
