A drunken driver who was traveling the wrong way on a Wisconsin highway was sentenced Friday to more than 35 years in prison for a crash that killed four siblings in another vehicle.
“It's incomprehensible to this court to imagine losing four children,” Judge Raymond Huber said.
Scott Farmer, 48, of Neenah had pleaded no contest to homicide by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle in the crash last December in Waupaca County.
Police said Farmer was driving the wrong way when his truck crashed into an SUV in Weyauwega, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Milwaukee.
The crash killed Daniel Gonzalez, 25, brother Fabian Gonzalez, 23, and their sisters, Lilian Gonzalez, 14, and Daniela Gonzalez, 9. The four were the children of Kurt Schilling, a pastor at Emmaus Lutheran Church in Waupaca, and his wife, Paulina.
“This court certainly has knowledge that there are a number of wrong-way drivers on Highway 10,” the judge said. “While the Department of Transportation should look at possibly making improvements, it does not obviate Mr. Farmer's culpability.”
Farmer had a blood-alcohol level of 0.34, more than four times over the legal limit. His legal threshold was even lower because of previous alcohol-related convictions, Huber said.
Defense attorney John Miller Carroll said Farmer excessively drank vodka at home before getting in his truck — “the worst decision of his life.” He said Farmer didn't see headlights coming toward him on a tricky highway.
The children were buried in Ecuador, the homeland of their mother.
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