Driver sentenced for DWI crash that killed UH student in 2016
Judge hands man a prison term of 10 years with possibility of parole after four months; father thinks penalty ‘sends wrong message’
A former University of Houston student who pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the drunken-driving wreck that killed another UH student three years ago was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison.
As his family looked on, Marshall Schoen handed his suit jacket and tie to a bailiff, preparing to be taken into custody. Outside the courtroom, the slain student’s mother and his girlfriend, who was injured in the crash, gripped each other in a tight hug, both breaking down in tears.
Schoen, 26, was behind the wheel of the Ford F-350 pickup that struck and killed Mark Tartaglio, 20, and injured girlfriend Corina Burnett on April 14, 2016, as the couple walked home from a sorority costume party.
“I know that you didn’t wake up that day wanting this to happen,” Burnett told Schoen during a victim impact statement after the sentence was read. “But your choice that night affected me and so many other amazing people for the rest of our lives.”
Schoen had asked to be sentenced without a jury by state District Judge Josh Hill, who indicated Schoen could be eligible for probation after about four months. He could have faced up to 20 years in prison.
Tartaglio’s father, also named Mark Tartaglio, said the family was taken aback to hear that Schoen was remorseful but never personally apologized. He added he felt the sentence was light.
“If he’s out in 120 days, he
doesn’t even miss a holiday with his family,” he said. “The overall sentence sends the wrong message to the community.”
Schoen’s attorney, Brett Podolsky, said he appreciated that the judge balanced the seriousness of the offense with Schoen’s personal progress.
“We felt like that was the just result,” Podolsky said. “My client was fully prepared to go to prison if that’s what the judge wanted to do.”
Tartaglio’s loved ones packed the courtroom over the two-day sentencing hearing as Hill heard testimony and evidence. Several cried while listening to their friends talk about the joyous engineering student whose life was cut short.
Schoen, who had attended the same sorority party with his girlfriend, was driving home when he sped around a car that was making a left turn. He lost control of the truck and drove onto the sidewalk, striking Tartaglio, who pushed Burnett out of the way. She suffered a concussion, a broken vertebrae and cracked ribs.
The couple had been walking to Tartaglio’s apartment, with plans to change and go back out, Burnett told the Chronicle. Schoen’s blood-alcohol content was 0.11.
The elder Tartaglio condemned drunken driving during a victim impact statement Friday. With ride-hailing as an alternative, no one should drive while intoxicated, he said.
“It’s not a mistake or an accident — it’s a choice,” the father said. “There’s no excuse for putting other people’s lives at risk.”
His son was remembered as giving and loving, his family and girlfriend said.
“I want to thank you for being my hero,” Burnett said to her former boyfriend in her statement. “I wish to remember Mark for the many good times we had together and for the incredible man he was.”