ST. LOUIS — A man who hit and killed a ºüÀêÊÓƵ teen crossing the street outside of the Ted Drewes Chippewa location and drove away from the scene was sentenced Friday to as few as 120 days in prison.
Family members of the victim, 17-year-old Christian Brothers College High School student Matthew Nikolai, detailed in court their lingering anger toward the driver and frustration with a sentence they felt was too light.
“These are the choices of a coward and a deceitful person,†Matthew’s mother, Maggie Nikolai, said in court Friday.
Jacob Adler, 27, pleaded guilty to leaving the scene after killing Matthew on July 29, 2022, as he crossed Chippewa Street toward Ted Drewes. Adler also admitted to attempted tampering with physical evidence by taking his Ford F-150 to a repair shop the day after the crash.
As part of a deal with prosecutors, Adler was sentenced to a 120-day “shock†prison term followed by probation. If he violates his probation, he will receive a five-year prison sentence.
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Matthew’s death marked the second time in about two months a pedestrian was killed while crossing Chippewa in front of Ted Drewes in 2022, prompting city officials to promise fixes to a popular area on a busy street that doesn’t have a designated crosswalk or a median for pedestrians to take refuge.
City officials said in December 2023 they were putting together the money for fixes and hoped construction would begin as soon as this month.
But spokesman Conner Kerrigan said Friday the city is still finishing designs for the project, including better lighting, a pedestrian crosswalk and signal, a center median and a barrier to encourage people to cross at the crosswalk.
“We won’t have the clearest idea about a timeline until we’ve finalized the design and are able to bid the work out,†Kerrigan said in an email.
Meanwhile, Matthew’s family has been grieving and frustrated with the legal process. It took nearly two years for Adler’s case to be resolved, and the agreement of 120 days shock incarceration wasn’t enough to account for the loss of a helpful, kind person, his family said.
Matthew was a rising senior at CBC, where he participated in the robotics team and chorus. He planned to attend ºüÀêÊÓƵ University after graduation to study biomedical engineering.
“He was a wonderful kid, and we’re not just saying that because we are his parents,†Maggie Nikolai said in a statement she wrote with her husband, Phil Nikolai.
The crash happened around 8 p.m. two years ago as Matthew and his cousin were crossing Chippewa and headed to the custard stand. Matthew was hit by a pickup truck going west. Matthew then tumbled into an eastbound land, police said, and was hit by a 2014 Ford Fusion.
The driver of the Fusion stopped to help, but the pickup drove off. Police later learned the driver, Adler, parked on a nearby side street and walked back to the scene of the crash to watch the chaos unfolding.
Adler eventually walked back to his pickup and left. Matthew died at a hospital.
The next day, Adler took his truck to an auto repair shop. On Aug. 1, he called to ask for a price estimate, authorities said. The manager of the shop eventually recognized the vehicle from surveillance footage posted on the police department’s Facebook account and made a call.
No repairs were done, and police seized the truck as part of the investigation. Adler turned himself in to authorities on Aug. 8, but he wasn’t charged until weeks later because prosecutors said they needed more information from detectives.
Adler has been out on bond since soon after he was charged. He does not have any criminal history, and his family members and supporters filled one side of the courtroom on Friday. Several submitted letters to the judge speaking about his compassionate, hard-working nature.
Adler said he was “overwhelmed with extreme shame and regret.â€
“I never in my life have wanted to cause harm to another person,†he said. “Please know that I truly, truly am sorry.â€
Judge John T. Bird said he wouldn’t hesitate to keep Adler in prison or send him back if he violates his probation.
“This is a serious matter,†Bird said. “This is something that you did, and you’re going to have to live with it.â€