Gavin Veium, 22, was sentenced to 10 years in prison Monday for the drugged driving homicide that killed another man.
Prosecutors say an SUV driven by 45-year old Diano McCullough burst into flames when it was rear-ended at high speed by Veium on John Nolen Drive in downtown Madison in June.
Veium told the court he was sorry for causing destruction and pain, and acknowledged he deserved a prison sentence.
Veium’s attorney, Laura Breun said a previous, similar homicide case involving an impaired driver before presiding Dane County Judge William Hanrahan resulted in a three year prison sentence, and asked for a a similar sentence for Veium.
But Hanrahan noted Veium used the illegal drug LSD prior to the early morning collision, as opposed to the alcohol use in the previous case. Hanrahan also said Veium violated conditions of his bail at least three times as he awaited trial instead of trying to atone for his actions.
Assistant Dane County District Attorney William Brown maintained in a recorded, jail phone call by Veium before he released on bail, Veium schemed to hide inheritance money from what he believed could be a lawsuit from McCullough’s family members.
Breun said McCullough was also legally under the influence at the time of the collision with a blood alcohol level of .11, although Breun and others noted McCullough’s driving played no role in the crash.
For more go to WKOW: https://wkow.com/news/2019/03/11/driver-sentenced-to-10-years-in-prison-for-deadly-downtown-madison-crash/