10 Years In Prison For U.P. Man In Fatal Homecoming Crash
CHARLEVOIX, Mich. (AP) — A drunken driver was sentenced to at least 10 years in prison Monday in the death of an Upper Peninsula teenager who played in his school's football game and was killed while returning home from the homecoming dance.
It was an emotional scene in court as Mitchell Snyder's mother talked about her family's loss. Darrell Lovegrove, convicted of involuntary manslaughter and another crime, cried and apologized.
"Hopefully, someday, they forgive me. I'm sorry," he said.
Snyder was a 17-year-old senior at LaSalle High School in St. Ignace. He was on his way home from a dance when he was killed in a head-on crash in October 2015. Lovegrove's blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit.
The crash occurred in Mackinac County, but the trial was moved to Charlevoix County in the Lower Peninsula.
Five hundred people attended a vigil at the football field after Snyder died, and more than 1,500 attended his funeral.
"There is no way to give back what Darrell Lovegrove has taken from us," Snyder's mother, Deb Brandstrom, said in court.
She said she thinks about her son's final moments.
"My heart and my soul just aches and it continues to tear me up inside," Brandstrom said.
Lovegrove will be eligible for parole after 10 years.
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