City man gets year in jail in 2017 fatal crash that killed his friend

Scene of November 2017 crash that killed Chandler Peterson (Rochester Voice file), inset left, Chandler Peterson (Courtesy); at right, Frank Staples.

DOVER - A Rochester man pleaded guilty on Friday to driving recklessly when his car lost control on an unpaved section of Hare Road in Milton in 2017 killing his friend.

Chandler Peterson, 16, a rising football player from Nute and Farmington High who'd recently transferred to Spaulding, died at the scene.

Frank Staples, 20, of McKinley Street, admitted to the court he was speeding when he crashed his Toyota Camry around 10:30 a.m. on Nov. l9, a Sunday, in the area of 484 Hare Road. Heavy downpours were reported in the area at the time the crash occurred.

The car lost control heading down a hill and crashed into a tree, killing Peterson and injuring four others, including Staples.

On Saturday, the day before his death, April Chandler asked her son if he wanted to go to Buffalo Wild Wings, but he said no, he wanted to go to Milton to visit friends, she told The Rochester Voice shortly after his death.

He'd just transferred down to Spaulding High from Nute and he wanted to go back to hang with his buddies, she said.

"I dropped him off on Saturday at about 2:30 and said 'I love you,'" she said.

Staples was sentenced to 12 months in the Strafford County House of Corrections and lost his license for five years.