WOMAN GETS PROBATION IN FATAL WRECK

Denver woman was drunk when her car collided with and killed a motorcyclist.

April Wilson, 36, was driving with a bloodalcohol level of more than 0.21 percent in Denver when she collided with a speeding motorcyclist, killing him.

A Denver woman was sentenced Monday to two years’ probation for driving drunk in a crash last year that killed a speeding motorcyclist who also was intoxicated.

April Wilson, 36, declined to speak during an emotional court hearing where she wiped away a steady stream of tears. Wilson’s attorney told the court she has sworn off alcohol and that her life as she knew it has been erased.

District Judge Martin F. Egelhoff also sentenced Wilson to pay $6,450 in restitution, serve 180 days of home detention and complete substance-abuse rehabilitation. He ordered that she speak about her case to prevent others from making similar choices. Prosecutors sought a jail term. “If I thought that sitting in jail idle, unproductive would do anything, I would sentence you to that,” Egelhoff told Wilson.

Wilson was driving with a blood-alcohol level more than 0.211 when she drove into the path of 27-year-old Nathan Real about 2 a.m. April 12 near the intersection of Broadway and Second Avenue.

Colorado’s blood-alcohol limit for drivers is 0.08.

Authorities said Real was driving more than twice the 30 mph speed limit when Wilson cut across more than three lanes of traffic in a span of just 90 feet.

The two collided in front of witnesses who were leaving the area’s bars at closing time.

“I cannot stand here and say that my son was perfect,” Scott Real, Nathan’s father, told the court. “Like all of you, he had his demons and crosses to bear.”

Scott Real said Wilson’s actions should not be taken lightly or go without punishment.

“The actions of Ms. Wilson made her his judge, jury and executioner,” the father said.

Prosecutors said Wilson had promised a bartender near the crash that she wouldn’t get behind the wheel after he noticed how drunk she was. The wreck happened just eight blocks from her apartment.

Denver police say Real was thrown from his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, sending him flying into a concrete trash can and onto the ground.

Wilson pleaded guilty in November to driving under the influence and careless driving resulting in death — both Class 1 misdemeanors. Prosecutors dismissed a felony charge of vehicular homicide, records show.

A black and white photo of Nathan Real, who was engaged, was propped up in the courtroom as the sentence was handed down. A group of family and friends sat quietly in the gallery.

Scott Real said after the hearing that his son will be missed.

“Heaven gained an angel,” said Derek Mastay, a close friend.