So why is Matthew Broderick not in jail?

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On August 5, 1987, while driving a rented BMW 316 in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, Broderick crossed into the wrong lane and collided head-on with a Volvo. The driver, Anna Gallagher, 28, and her mother, Margaret Doherty, 63, were both killed instantly. He was vacationing with Jennifer Grey, whom he had begun dating in semi-secrecy during the filming of Ferris Bueller's Day Off; the crash publicly revealed their relationship. He had a fractured leg and ribs, a concussion, and a collapsed lung. Grey received minor injuries, including whiplash.

Broderick told police he had no recollection of the crash and did not know why he had been in the wrong lane: "What I first remember is waking up in the hospital, with a very strange feeling going on in my leg." He was charged with causing death by dangerous driving and faced up to five years in prison, but was convicted of the lesser charge of careless driving and fined £100 (US$175).

The victims' son and brother, Martin Doherty, called the verdict "a travesty of justice". He later forgave Broderick, amid plans to meet him in 2003. In February 2012, when Broderick was featured in a multi-million-dollar Honda commercial aired during the Super Bowl, Doherty said the meeting had not taken place and that Broderick "wasn't the greatest choice of drivers, knowing his past".

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