The Wright County Courthouse was the site of sadness and at least some closure on Tuesday when Judge Kathleen A. Mottl passed sentence on Stephen Dooher, the driver in an October 2008 single-vehicle crash that claimed the lives of three friends after a night of celebration.
Andrea Northern, 23, of South Haven, Michael DeMars, 22, of Maple Lake, and Derek Kammerer, 22, of Maple Lake, were killed when the 1984 Corvette driven by Dooher left the road near the intersection of Cty. Rd. 7 and Cty. Rd. 35 south of Maple Lake and crashed into a deep ditch, ejecting the three passengers and trapping Dooher behind the steering wheel. Although the crash occured on the evening of October 27, 2008, it was nearly 12 hours later when a passing motorist noticed the vehicle in a deep ditch on the west side of Cty. Rd. 7 and called authorities.
Dooher was left with a broken pelvis and an injury to his brain that, to this day, prevents him from remembering the details of the crash.
Dooher, the only survivor of the crash, pled guilty to three felony counts of criminal vehicular homicide, each carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years, $20,000 or both.
On Tuesday, Dooher was sentenced to 48 months, stayed, and a period of one year in the Wright County jail with a 10-year probation.
“I’m not sure justice can be served today,” Judge Mottl said early in the sentencing hearing. She went on to explain that she had read and re-read every letter sent by the families of the three victims with their hope that Dooher not be further punished by serving prison time.
In an emotional appeal, Howard Kammerer, father of crash victim Derek Kammerer, stood before the court remembering the friendship his son and Dooher shared.
“When Derek was with Stephen we breathed a sigh of relief,” said Kammerer. “He was with one of the good ones.”
Kammerer recounted family camping trips and other outings Dooher was included in and promised, “Stephen is a friend and he is going to remain a friend.”
Kammerer ended by saying, “Stephen is sorry. Stephen didn’t try to do this, he’s a young adult who made a horrible mistake. I understand that there has to be some punishment, there has to be a consequence for an action. If that can be that he be allowed to go out and speak in the community of this tragedy, we, my wife and I and our family, will be right by his side. The bottom line is that he’s a good kid who screwed up. We want to help him any way we can.”
Prosecuting Attorney Brian Lutes, in his statement, reminded the court that “We’re here today because of poor decisions made. The decision to allow three passengers in a car made for one, to go through a stop sign at speeds that one witness reported caused the car to go airborne. To allow passengers that were not restrained and that caused them to be ejected from the vehicle and sustain fatal injuries. Because of these injuries, three people died. There has to be consequences for the death of three people.”
Lutes closed by telling the court he believed that plea negotiations reflected both mercy and leniency and asked for a guideline sentence of 48 months.
More information in this week’s issue of the Messenger.
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