The lives of his children changed forever in an instant on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon in July, Burton Wagner told a judge yesterday in Lucas County Common Pleas Court.

That s when Steven Bradley lost control of his vehicle on U.S. 24 within view of the Wagners Providence Township home and crashed nearly head-on into his wife s vehicle, killing her and injuring their two daughters.

Our family struggles every day to get back to normal, a tearful Mr. Wagner told Judge James Bates at a sentencing hearing for Bradley.

Saying that nothing that I could do today will bring back the victim, Judge Bates placed Bradley on community control for four years and ordered him to pay a $2,500 fine.

Bradley, 31, of 3704 Drexel Drive, was also ordered into the court s work-release program for one year. His driver s license was suspended for five years.

Bradley pleaded no contest in November to one count of aggravated vehicular homicide in the death of Alice Wagner and two counts of vehicular assault for injuries her daughters, Emily, 14, and Sydney, 12, suffered in the July 16 accident.

After the hearing, Mr. Wagner said the sentence was inappropriate for killing someone and that Bradley should have been given prison time. An injustice was served today, he said.

Bradley could have been sentenced to eight years for killing Mrs. Wagner and injuring her daughters in the accident.

However, Judge Bates said the defendant s clean record before the crash not even a speeding ticket or parking ticket supported a no-prison sentence.

Prosecutors said Mrs. Wagner, 44, and her daughters had just left their home on U.S. 24 and were going to cheerleading practice when Bradley s eastbound vehicle crossed the center line and struck the Wagners westbound Hummer near Heller Road.

A motorist following Bradley told investigators Bradley swerved to the right, then overcompensated when he returned to the roadway.

While letters to the court implied that Bradley had been under the influence of drugs and alcohol, Judge Bates said that was not the case.

I am sure he didn t go out that day intending to harm or cause the particular accident, he said.

Bradley, who works as a physical therapist, struggled with his emotions as he read a letter in which he apologized to the family and friends of the victims before his sentencing.

Mrs. Wagner, who also was the mother of a 21-year-old son, was an active fund-raiser for Otsego Schools, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the American Red Cross, and the United Way.

Mr. Wagner cradled the shoulders of his daughters as they told Judge Bates about how the accident and their mother s death affected their lives.

My mom was my best friend. My mom was a hero. She taught me everything, said Emily, who broke down sobbing several times.

Assistant Prosecutor Louis Kountouris said outside the courtroom that any punishment the judge could have given would not provide solace for the family. No sentencing seems appropriate when you are dealing with a tragedy like this, he said.

First Published January 3, 2007, 5:53 p.m.