By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-23 22:00:09 | Updated at 2024-11-25 00:33:40
1 day ago
A Wisconsin drunk driver who killed four siblings aged nine to 25 in a horrific head-on crash has been sentenced to more than 37 years behind bars.
Daniel Gonzalez, 25, and his brother Fabian, 23, and their sisters Lilian, 14, and Daniela, 9, died after getting struck by a truck that was going the wrong way on Highway 10 last December.
Scott Farmer, 48, pleaded no contest to homicide by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle in August, according to WBAY.
He was then found guilty of his fifth drunk driving offense - he had four prior convictions - and four charges of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle.
The Wisconsin State Crime Lab said his blood-alcohol content was 0.346, more than four times the normal legal limit, the local news station reported.
On top of that, due to Farmers prior Operating While Impaired (OWI) convictions, he was further restricted to a blood-alcohol content of 0.02 - 17 times lower than what his blood tested at.
Their mother, Paulina Gonzalez-Medina, spoke at Farmer's sentencing on Friday and asked for the maximum sentence.
'His irresponsibility and lack of consideration for other people's lives, destroying four innocent beings and my life,' she said.
Scott Farmer (pictured), 48, was sentence to more than 37 years behind bars for killing four siblings aged nine to 25 in a horrific head-on crash
Pictured: A memorial for the late Gonzalez siblings
Their remaining sibling Jorge said, 'Destroying a family is a crime in itself. Personally, my life was destroyed when I found out my four siblings had died.'
Farmer addressed the court, apologizing for his action saying, 'There's not a day that goes by that I don't think of this and I wish would have died instead of them.
'I have a ton of remorse for this. The poor victims that can't sleep at night, you know I was there and I can't sleep either, anytime I so wish I could switch places with them. I'm so sorry for what I did to Daniela, Daniel, Lillian, Fabian.'
However, prosecutors said recorded phone calls between Farmer and his wife from jail show he had no remorse and even blamed the victims, according to the local news station.
'No amount of time would be enough. I believe that the sentence that was handed down by the judge was just, fair, and appropriate and will achieve the adjective of making sure Scott Farmer is not able to drive again and endanger anyone else,' said Waupaca County District Attorney Kat Turner.
Farmer was sentenced to nine years for each sibling, totaling 36 years in prison, and an additional 18 months for the OWI charge.
Gonzalez-Medina said that her two boys, Daniel and Fabian, spent a lot of time together, and they shared a joy for music.
Lilian was a freshman at Weyauwega-Fremont High School, and her mother said that she dreamed of being a teacher.
Daniel Gonzalez (left), 25, and his brother Fabian (right), 23, were taking their two younger sisters out for ice cream when the crash occurred
Lilian (left), 14, and Daniela (right), 9, died along with their brothers after getting struck by a truck that was going the wrong way on Highway 10
The Gonzalez siblings' stepfather Kurt Schilling consoles the mother of those killed by Farmer, Paulina Gonzalez
Daniela, who was in fourth grade, dreamt of becoming a cheerleader one day.
During the time of the tragic crash, the siblings' family said that they were on their way back home from their weekly outing.
They were just three miles away from their house when Farmer collided with them.
During the time of the tragic crash, the siblings' family said that they were on their way back home from their weekly outing.
They were just three miles away from their house when Farmer collided with them.
'The big brothers would always treat their sisters to Culver's and then drop them off here, go to bed, be in church in the morning, that kind of thing. It was the Saturday tradition,' their stepfather Kurt Shilling said.
