a drunk driver who was traveling in the wrong direction wisconsin Highwayman was sentenced to more than 35 years in prison Friday for a crash that killed four siblings traveling in another vehicle.
Judge Raymond Huber said, “It is beyond comprehension for this court to imagine the loss of four children.”
Scott Farmer, 48, of Neenah, pleaded no contest to manslaughter by use of a motor vehicle while intoxicated in a crash in Waupaca County last December.
Police said Farmer was driving the wrong way when his truck collided with an SUV in Weyauwega, about 100 miles northwest of Milwaukee.
Daniel Gonzalez, 25, his brother Fabian Gonzalez, 23, and his sisters Lillian Gonzalez, 14, and Daniela Gonzalez, 9, died in the crash. The four were Pastor Curt Schilling of Emmaus Lutheran Church in Waupaca and his children. Wife, Paulina.
“This court certainly knows that there are many wrong-way drivers on Highway 10,” the judge said. “While the Department of Transport should probably consider making improvements, this does not eliminate Mr Farmer's culpability.”
Farmer's blood-alcohol level was 0.34, four times the legal limit. Huber said he was even lower than the legal limit due to previous alcohol-related convictions.
Defense attorney John Miller Carroll said Farmer drank excessive amounts of vodka at home before getting into his truck – “the worst decision of his life.” He said the farmer did not see the headlights coming towards him on the difficult highway.
The children were buried in their mother's homeland of Ecuador.