LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - A woman who admitted to driving drunk when she struck and killed a Louisville police detective and a University of Kentucky employee has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Suzanne Whitlow acknowledged that she was impaired when she struck Detective Jason Schweitzer and Timothy Moore in 2016.
In court in Lexington on Friday, Whitlow said, “I know I have to go to prison. I shouldn’t have done what I did.”
Whitlow was driving in Lexington when her vehicle struck Schweitzer, 37, and Moore, 56, who were standing by the street.
Whitlow entered a conditional guilty plea in February to driving under the influence and two counts of second-degree manslaughter with the understanding that she will appeal a judge’s decision regarding evidence collection in the case, The Lexington Herald-Leader reported .
Schweitzer was in town for a Fraternal Order of Police convention. He and Moore were hit as the two were talking near the entrance to a university building, according to Moore’s boss.
Jessica Schweitzer, Schweitzer’s widow, found little solace in Whitlow’s apology.
“It doesn’t really matter. It really doesn’t change anything,” she said. “It doesn’t change the fact that my husband’s gone and that both my kids don’t have their father here. …Her apology doesn’t change that.”
Whitlow’s conditional plea allows a challenge of police evidence collection. Her attorney has argued that police should have obtained a search warrant before having UK medical staff draw a blood sample from Whitlow. That issue will be appealed to a higher court.
___
Information from: Lexington Herald-Leader, http://www.kentucky.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.