Just before he headed to prison, Kevin Roger Doerr turned and waved goodbye to his family, who packed one side of a Hennepin County courtroom.
He didn't make eye contact with the people on the other side. They had watched Doerr closely as a judge sentenced him Thursday to five years for causing a car crash that killed their son, husband, brother and friend.
Doerr, 24, pleaded guilty last month to criminal vehicular homicide in the Sept. 20 death of Ethan T. Johnson, 37, a University of Minnesota research associate.
Doerr admitted he was driving more than 60 miles per hour when his vehicle slammed into the one Johnson was driving in south Minneapolis, fatally injuring him. Johnson's father, Dr. Stephen F. Johnson of Missoula, Mont., was seriously injured. Ethan Johnson's wife, Xena Huff, and his stepmother, Susan Johnson, were treated at a hospital and released.
Doerr fled the scene and was arrested 12 hours later. Witnesses said Doerr was drinking before the crash, according to the charges.
District Judge Richard Scherer noted that the five-year sentence was slightly less than state guidelines because Doerr took responsibility for his actions. He will be eligible for supervised release in three years. A two-year sentence for an unrelated third-degree assault conviction is set to run at the same time.
Susan Johnson read statements on behalf of her husband and Xena Huff. Huff urged Scherer to hand down a "fair and wise" sentence. She also asked that everyone honor her husband by living the way he did.
Johnson, an athlete and musician, shunned cell phones and junk food and commuted year-round on his bike, said his mother, Beverly Smith.
