GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Sentencing is set for Tuesday in Brown County court in the case of a double-fatal drunk driving crash last year.
A mother and daughter from Lawrence were run down by a drunken driver. The defendant reached a plea deal in the case, but family and friends of the victims will also be heard by the judge.
Forty-seven-year-old David Meyer admitted to driving home drunk from a golf outing August 17 of last year.
His car hit 44-year-old Rebecca Pennenberg and her 18-year-old daughter Raelia as they walked along French Road in Lawrence. They died at the scene.
In June, Meyer reached a plea deal, and was convicted of two counts of homicide by use of a vehicle while having a prohibited alcohol concentration.
Two counts of homicide by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle were dismissed but can be considered when Judge William Atkinson sentences Meyer on Tuesday.
According to court documents, Meyer’s preliminary breath test was .219, which is more than two and a half times the legal limit of .08 percent.
The Brown County District Attorney’s office forwarded 48 letters from family and friends of the Pennenberg’s to the judge for his review before sentencing.
Some of the letters emphasize this was not Meyer’s first conviction for driving drunk. Other letters focused on the lingering impact of the deaths on family and the community
A friend of Raelia wrote, “Something tells me that I, and everyone who has met Rae, will always feel this pain. Raelia was irreplaceable.”
Isaiah Pennenberg mourns the loss of his mother and sister in the crash. He shared memories of happy times spent as a family and how those family gatherings have come to an end, writing, “Mr. Meyer took all of this away from me. I feel like he took part of my childhood away from me.”
His brother Noah added, “What I feel David should get for killing my mom and sister and destroying my family is the maximum sentence he could get.”
The sentencing hearing will take place Tuesday at 10 a.m. in Judge Atkinson’s courtroom. The maximum prison sentence would be 50 years.
As of Friday FOX 11 was told the judge received no letters in support of the defendant.
