In May 2005 an intoxicated Eugene Bottcher drove his vehicle off the road, hitting a boy and narrowly missing the boy’s brother. The boy who had been hit later died at the hospital from his injuries. After Bottcher hit the boy, he continued to drive, and when stopped by a passerby who had witnessed the accident, Bottcher tried to bribe him into not reporting the crime.
Bottcher pleaded no contest to manslaughter, assault in the third degree, and failure to render assistance. The superior court sentenced Bottcher to a term of 23 years with 3 years suspended. The court also revoked Bottcher’s driver’s license for life. The court of appeals affirmed Bottcher’s sentence and the lifetime revocation of his license. In his petition to this court, Bottcher argues that the lifetime revocation was excessive. We hold that the trial court was not clearly mistaken in finding that Bottcher’s case was an extreme one in which a lifetime revocation of his driver’s license was required to protect the public. We therefore affirm the decision of the court of appeals, which affirmed the superior court’s lifetime revocation of Bottcher’s driver’s license.
So frequently we hear stories of cyclists being the victims of hit and run drivers that get away with the crime. Or drivers whose punishment seems so light. Here the punishment seems to fit the crime. May we all drive bike aware this summer.
http://www.courtrecords.alaska.gov/webdocs/opinions/ops/sp-6781.pdf