June 24, 2015 at 4:33 p.m.
Driver in fatal Minocqua accident sentenced to 30 days in jail
Driver in fatal Minocqua accident sentenced to 30 days in jail
Adam B. Lynch, 28, of Delavan, was driving a commercial vehicle that struck and killed Robin A. Kuzel, 55, of Minocqua just before 3 a.m. on Oct. 23, 2014 as Kuzel was riding a bicycle on U.S. Highway 51 South. Lynch appeared before Branch I Judge Patrick O'Melia Tuesday, with his attorney Dan Sanders, for sentencing.
Lynch was charged March 30 with misdemeanor reckless driving causing bodily harm as well as two traffic citations, one for inattentive driving and the other for interstate record of duty status. The case was delayed while Oneida County District Attorney Michael Schiek waited for an accident reconstruction report from the state.
Neither of Kuzel's children were in court, although his daughter had hoped to be before transportation problems prevented her appearance. Neither child sent in a statement to be read into the record.
"Although Mr. Lynch was arrested the morning of this incident, a formal charging decision wasn't made until we received the accident reconstruction report, which I believe we didn't get until December," Schiek said. "In between the incident and receiving the accident report, Mr. Sanders was retained by Mr. Lynch and we started discussing negotiation and trading the discovery that I had. But it just took a while for us to get all the information, complete the investigation and essentially negotiate before filing charges."
While a charge of homicide by negligent use of a motor vehicle, or something along those lines, was a possibility, Schiek said the facts in the accident reconstruction report and the standards of proving criminal negligence eventually tipped the scale in favor of the lower charge.
"I knew I would have some problems with that (the standards) but the way we charged, and what he is pleading to, is appropriate," Schiek said. "And the reason I say that, judge, is there is no criminal history of the defendant. That is always something I like to take into consideration. There was an alcohol test taken..."
"Why was there an arrest? The criminal complaint is kind of sketchy," O'Melia interjected. "It's bare bones, he was arrested for reckless driving causing great bodily harm, for injuries to who?"
"Robin Kuzel," Schiek replied.
"And there was a homicide mentioned in the arrest report?" O'Melia asked.
"Right, he was arrested that night and bond was set," Schiek replied. "I don't know why law enforcement decided to arrest him that night."
"There was one victim here, correct?" O'Melia asked.
Yes," Schiek replied.
"Is the person deceased?" O'Melia asked.
"Yes, he was killed," Schiek said.
"That's not even clear in the report other than "couldn't get a pulse," O'Melia replied. "They called an ambulance or they called the coroner, I don't know if it's two people or one person."
Schiek then explained to the judge that Kuzel was struck and killed while riding a bicycle.
"It was the rationale of my office that there was no alcohol or drug use, there was some information about a cellphone that he was not on at the time of the accident," Schiek said. "Speed was not a factor."
Schiek said the accident report states that Lynch was the driver of a Chevrolet van at the time of the crash and had admitted he was feeling drowsy and was on the Internet "trying to become more alert." According to his driving log, Lynch had exceeded the maximum time he was legally supposed to be behind the wheel over a three-day period at the time of the accident.
"His admitted sleepiness was a significant factor in the crash," Schiek said, quoting the report.
Schiek said the route Lynch was driving would have him go from Milwaukee to Ironwood, Michigan with stops in Stevens Point, Wausau, Merrill, and Rhinelander.
"At the time this occurred, he had been driving for about 9 1/2 hours," Schiek said. "According to the time limits, he was over the limits he was supposed to work, according to the logbook he was supposed to be keeping. Because he was so tired, he essentially fell asleep at the wheel."
At the time of the accident, only Kuzel and Lynch were on the road, Schiek said. For some reason, Lynch's vehicle swerved over the fog line and struck Kuzel.
"After looking at all that and trying to fit it into a charge, I was comfortable negotiating the way I did," Schiek said. "Even though there was a death and therefore (this was) very serious - he fell asleep - I think it was criminal in that he could have made the decision before this happened, he could have decided to pull over. He had done so a short time earlier trying to wake himself up, but his employment required that he continue to drive. And I think that is the difference."
Sanders said Lynch is remorseful. He also noted Lynch was not the normal driver for that route, having stepped in just two days before the accident after the regular driver quit. He had been working for Safelite for a little over four years and had driven the route before, but soon realized he couldn't handle the long hours of driving and transferred to a warehouse job, Sanders said.
"He was taken off that route because he was having trouble staying awake," Sanders said.
Sanders said on the return leg of the trip, just after crossing back into Wisconsin, Lynch pulled over and tried to get himself alert again.
"He talked to all his friends and family and neighbors that he could get on the phone," Sanders said.
As he rounded the curve and started up the hill after leaving Minocqua, he hit something.
"He had hit deer before, and that is what he thought he hit. In the company, it's not unusual, there are people who have done that. In fact, the van he was driving had some damage to the vehicle from prior impacts from hitting deer," Sanders said. "He thought that is what happened."
Sanders said Lynch immediately called 9-1-1 and pulled over as he has been instructed to do. He said Lynch didn't think he had swerved and certainly didn't think he had struck a person.
"It wasn't until the officer came back up alongside his car and the ambulance arrived that he realized that something had tragically gone wrong," Sanders said.
Since the accident, Sanders said Lynch has had trouble sleeping, hasn't driven more than an hour at one stretch and does not drive at night. He said Lynch didn't return to work until the second week in January.
"Since then, as the court may well imagine, it has changed his life," Sanders said.
Sanders told O'Melia that Lynch has been seeing a therapist since the accident, who told him that Lynch is having a hard time dealing with what happened.
"From the very first moment that Mr. Lynch knew he was getting out on bond here in Rhinelander, the first thing out of his mouth was he wanted to call the (Kuzel) family," Sanders said. "I had to tell him as his attorney that he couldn't do that."
Any punishment a court can hand down could not be more severe than what Lynch is dealing with emotionally, he added.
Lynch then read a prepared statement which Sanders said he worked very hard to write.
"I would like to apologize to the family," Lynch said. "Since this accident happened, my thoughts have been with them, my prayers have been with them."
Lynch said he understands there is nothing he can say to them that would "make them feel better," but he wanted them to know he is truly sorry. As soon as he realized he killed a man rather than an animal, he said he went into shock.
"A lot of things went into this day," and the resulting death, O'Melia said, including the fact that Lynch made the same trip the day before, knew he was tired and hadn't gotten enough sleep, and still made the trip again.
"I would have loved to have your boss here, as well, for sending someone on this unaccompanied trip a second time around," O'Melia said, adding that a relief driver should have been sent or Lynch should have been given a voucher for a hotel room.
"This was a bad, bad set of circumstances that ... resulted in this person's death," O'Melia said. "But, as you pointed out, it does come down to you. You knew you were tired on the way home on this evening. Because you felt drowsy, you stopped your truck or van, you got out, walked around. You're doing all the right things, but ultimately there is no right thing. It's not like drunk driving where you could pull over and sleep it off, as they say. You had to pull over and get sleep. You never would have made it to Milwaukee, based on what I've heard and what I've read here."
O'Melia said sleep deprivation, which is what Lynch was suffering from at the time of the accident, has been shown to have the same effects as driving drunk. He said Lynch showed bad judgment by choosing to operate the vehicle while he knew he was too tired to continue.
In the end, O'Melia withheld the maximum sentence, which was up to a year in jail and a fine of $2,000. Instead, he ordered Lynch to spend one year on probation and serve 30 days in jail with credit for two days already served.
He also ordered Lynch to write a meaningful letter of admission to Kuzel's family, and perform 100 hours community service speaking to truck drivers and others who drive long distances. He was given up to 30 days to report to jail, which he can serve in either Waukesha or Walworth counties, and was allowed Huber privileges. He was also ordered to pay court costs totaling $443.
On the two traffic citations, he received forfeitures totaling $451.40.
Jamie Taylor may be reached at [email protected].
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