Drunken driver who caused fatal crash gets probation
An admitted drunken driver who caused a fatal crash in 2015 will not go to prison, an Oklahoma County judge has decided.
Instead, William Michael Houghtlin was sentenced to 40 years probation for the Oklahoma City collision that left one person dead and two others severely injured.
The punishment is a rarity. Most drunken drivers who kill someone spend years in prison.
“The decision I made to drive while intoxicated, resulting in the death and severe injuries to others, is something I will have to live with and regret for the rest of my life,” Houghtlin stated in plea paperwork.
Houghtlin, 38, of Choctaw, pleaded guilty June 27 to firstdegree manslaughter, causing an accident resulting in great bodily injury while driving under the influence, and failure to stop at a stop sign. A passenger in the car Houghtlin struck was killed, according to prosecutors.
Houghtlin chose to have
District Judge Michele McElwee decide his punishment.
Prosecutors asked the judge to sentence Houghtlin to at least 20 years in prison, a punishment requested by the victims’ family members. Defense attorneys asked for probation because Houghtlin was an “unusual defendant.”
“He has never been in any kind of trouble before,” defense attorney Jaye Mendros told The
Oklahoman. “He had no drinking problem. He had no drug problem. It was really a fluke.”
Mendros said Houghtlin was “so horrified by what happened that he spends all his free time trying to prevent more drunken driving accidents.
“And I think that’s probably what set him apart.”
Since the collision, Houghtlin has spoken numerous times at victim impact panels, high schools and colleges about his choice to drink and drive, according to Mendros.
“It’s his way of trying to make amends for something he can’t fix,” Mendros said. “The reason he got probation ... is because he’s successfully reaching people who are at risk of creating another courtroom scene like what happened (here).”
Houghtlin must speak for the victim impact program for the duration of his probation but, at sentencing, he said he’ll do it for life, according to his attorney. He addressed the victims’ families during the sentencing and apologized, the attorney said.
Unexpected outcome
Assistant District Attorney Catt Burton said the judge’s punishment shocked her.
“I was just speechless,” Burton told The
Oklahoman. The prosecutor called Houghtlin “a defense attorney’s dream in terms of a defendant’s behavior prior to their crime and after their crime.”
She said the judge found that Houghtlin had accepted responsibility for his actions and was now trying to discourage others from drinking and driving. But Burton said she never thought he wouldn’t spend any time in prison.
The prosecutor said she didn’t prepare the victims’ family members for this type of outcome. Houghtlin even testified during the sentencing and told the judge he felt he deserved prison, according to the prosecutor.
Burton said the judge was impressed by Houghtlin’s actions since the crash and felt he couldn’t pay restitution to the victims if he went to prison. The prosecutor said the victims’ family members were angered by the judge’s punishment and the message it sends.
“It’s a double-edged sword,” Burton said. “Obviously, he’s using his message for good and I appreciate that.”
Burton said she hopes this case will show people “why you shouldn’t do this, even once, getting cocky and believing you can make it home.”
She said, “We don’t realize we get behind these weapons every day. And when you add cellphones and texting and alcohol and drugs, catastrophe is waiting to happen all the time.”
The judge also ordered Houghtlin to pay restitution, which will be determined at a hearing set for December. The judge declined to comment last week.
Documents show Houghtlin is in a management position for Crest Foods, earning approximately $80,000 a year. His attorneys reported he has agreed to pay at least $300,000 in restitution.
The crash
The morning of Oct. 24, 2015, Houghtlin left work to go to a cookout. After socializing and drinking alcohol he “talked himself into thinking he could drive home,” defense attorneys wrote in a court document.
During the short drive home that evening, Houghtlin ran a stop sign at the intersection of SE 59 and S Choctaw Road, police reported.
He then collided with a vehicle driven by Aaron Streetman, then 20. Streetman suffered skull and facial fractures, according to prosecutors.
Also in the car was Streetman’s brother, Austin Thomas Williams, and Jenna Credico.
Williams, 18, was killed and Credico, 26, suffered a traumatic brain injury, according to prosecutors. She had to learn to walk again and will have to spend the rest of her life in “assisted living,” documents show.
“My life sucks. He ruined my life, quite literally,” Credico said of Houghtlin in a statement.
Williams’ grandparents also gave statements to prosecutors.
Williams’ grandmother said, “My baby is gone, and the only time I can talk to him is at the cemetery.”
The victim’s grandfather said, “Austin was our life. Now that Austin has been taken from us, I feel that life is not worth living. We had so many things we had planned to do together, now we can’t because of a drunk driver.”
Houghtlin’s blood alcohol level at the time was 0.19, more than twice the legal limit, according to prosecutors. He hasn’t driven or consumed alcohol since the crash, defense attorneys reported in a document filed in April.