Driver in fatal DWI crash gets 3 years
Victim’s family says plea is fair, acknowledges apology
SANTA FE — Dominic Friedlein is not the typical DWI offender with a vehicular homicide charge, both a judge and a prosecutor said at a sentencing hearing Wednesday, as the 25-year-old didn’t have so much as a speeding ticket before he caused a deadly crash that killed his friend last year.
Friedlein, who in court Wednesday described his late friend Stefan Siegmann as “an amazing soul,” was charged with one count of homicide by vehicle and two counts of great bodily harm by vehicle for the April 9, 2017, fatality.
Friedlein admitted to police that he drank three beers prior to driving and trying to make a left turn from St. Fran-
cis Drive onto San Mateo when his SUV was hit by an oncoming vehicle. Siegmann, Friedlein’s 29-year-old passenger, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the other car had both her wrists broken while her child in the back seat suffered an orbital fracture.
In January, Friedlein pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle and the other two charges were dropped.
At Wednesday’s hearing, District Court Judge T. Glenn Ellington gave Friedlein a three-year sentence, but with credit for the year he’s spent in jail or on electronic monitoring since the crash. The sentence’s terms call for him to spend the next 350 days in jail and then the final year on house arrest.
When given the opportunity to speak, Friedlein turned around and directly addressed Siegmann’s family members in the courtroom.
“My hope is to bring some closure to everybody by accepting responsibility for my actions,” Friedlein said. “The world lost an amazing soul that day and I’m sorry from the bottom of my heart.”
Prosecutor Johnn Osborn said Siegmann’s family felt Friedlan’s plea agreement was fair and noted that Friedlein had a clean record before the crash. “This is a prime example how awful DWI is in our state,” Osborn said. “Mr. Freidlein may not be the typical defendant that comes before your honor.”
Siegmann’s mother, Lisa Siegmann, said in court that her only child was getting ready to move to Flagstaff, Ariz., before he was killed. “What could have been for him has caused me so much sorrow,” she said. “He had so many dreams and talents.”
Lisa Siegmann then spoke directly to Freidlein. “I want to thank you very much for taking your plea,” she said. “It shows the responsibility you’ve taken. It shows your character. … I think it was not your intention for Stefan to die that way, but that was the result of some of your choices.”
After his jail time and house arrest period, Friedlein also must serve five years on supervised probation, with an option to petition for unsupervised probation after three years.