
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 18, 1994                   TAG: 9403180161
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

MOTORIST CONVICTED IN CO-WORKER'S DEATH

A Roanoke County man who drove a pickup into a tree, killing one of his passengers, was convicted Wednesday of involuntary manslaughter.

Gerald David Schuder Jr., 37, was driving drunk at the time of the accident, prosecutors said. He will face up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced later.

At a hearing in Roanoke County Circuit Court, Schuder pleaded no contest in connection with the death of his friend, Braxton Stinchfield, 22, of Richmond.

Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Mark Claytor gave the following summary of the case:

On the night of Nov. 10, Schuder, Stinchfield and a fellow construction worker had been drinking at a Salem bar.

The trio headed for Schuder's home about 12:30 a.m. The truck was westbound on Harborwood Road - about half a mile from Schuder's home - when it veered off the road into a tree.

Stinchfield, sitting in the middle of the cab, suffered severe head injuries and died a short time later at Roanoke Memorial Hospital.

There was no evidence of excessive speed, but tests determined that Schuder's blood-alcohol content was about 0.18 percent - nearly twice the level at which someone is considered too drunk to drive.

Schuder is scheduled to be sentenced May 11.

Keywords:
FATALITY

by CNB