In an ideal world, Stephen R. Catalano would be facing the prospect of many years in a jail cell. Instead, the man who caused the death of a 14-year-old girl and injured at least 10 others faces the prospect of having his prison time reduced, if he is convicted.

This week, an indictment against the West Babylon driver dismissed three indictments against him, related to driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. With this, the potential time that Catalano could serve in prison will be reduced from 2 1/3 to 7 years, to 1 1/3 to 4 years.

So, one teenager is dead, others were injured, and the man gets to walk home with as low a 1 1/3 years if he is convicted.

The accident, which killed Angelic Nappi, happened on February 16. Angelica, her sister Nicollete along with three friends, Rachel Williams, Tanisha Combs and Brittany Combs were headed to the movies in a Saturn. Catalan, who was driving with two other passengers, ran a red light at County 101 and slammed into the Saturn. Angelica was severely injured and died three days later. Catalano and his passengers also suffered severe injuries.

After the crash it was revealed that Catalano had 11 suspensions on his driving record. He had a long history of driving offenses, and the day of the crash he had been scheduled to appear in court on another aggravated driving charge. In short, this was a man who treated the streets like his own private fiefdom with not a thought for others sharing space with him. 11 suspensions is not a laughing matter. We are not talking about a random speeding ticket here. We’re talking about a history of reckless driving, and a man who had no business being behind the wheel at all.

And now comes this. An indictment has actually lowered the charges against Catalano. Toxicology reports have now come back showing that there was no alcohol involved in the crash. The new indictment lists homicide, a felony, third-degree assault, reckless driving, second-degree aggravated unlicensed operation, failing to stop and two counts of speeding. The only punishment, if you can call it that, is that his bail amount has now been increased from $25,000 to $75,000.

We can expect some legal maneuvering from Catalano’s legal team to get him off with as low a sentence as possible. The Saturn had a total of six persons in it, and this might well be taken as a case of overcrowding and failure to wear seat belts. We wouldn’t be surprised if there are “blame the victim” tactics used here too.

We hope Angelica’s family is considering a civil lawsuit against Catalona. If the courts can’t give him what he deserves, maybe a wrongful death verdict will.