Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 13, 1992 TAG: 9202130192
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
MOTORCYCLIST GETS 3 YEARS IN PRISON
A man who crashed his motorcycle into a telephone pole after a night of drinking - killing a friend who was riding with him - was sentenced Wednesday to three years in prison.Stacey Lee Hann, 25, had been convicted last month in Roanoke County Circuit Court of involuntary manslaughter.
At a sentencing hearing Wednesday, Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Mark Claytor noted that Hann twice was convicted of drunken driving in the four months before the alcohol-related accident that killed 24-year-old Mildred E. Smith last June 29.
Witnesses testified last month that Hann had drunk up to 15 beers, taken several shots of bourbon and smoked marijuana before he climbed on his motorcycle to leave a Vinton bar with Smith riding behind him.
Hann, however, maintained that he was not too drunk to drive, and that the accident happened when he failed to negotiate a curve at Walnut Avenue and Eighth Street.
Smith suffered severe internal injuries when the motorcycle veered off the road and struck a utility pole. She died several hours later during surgery at Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
Judge Kenneth Trabue sentenced Hann to six years in prison, to be suspended after he serves three. Trabue also revoked Hann's driver's license, placed him on probation for three years after his release and ordered him to receive treatment for his alcohol problem.
Because Hann has been in jail since shortly after the accident, he soon will be eligible for parole. He had faced a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Noting that the courtroom was filled Wednesday with members of a high school class on a field trip, defense attorney Jonathan Apgar said that perhaps something was gained from Hann's case if it increased awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving.
Keywords:
FATALITY