Man pleads in fatal drunken driving crash
Victim, 34, was employed at Little Caesars Arena
A St. Clair Shores man has pleaded no contest to a potential 15-year felony for the death of a man in a 2021 drunken driving crash in Harper Woods.
David W. Gaval III, 37, is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 9 by Judge Mark Slavens in Wayne County Circuit Court after pleading last month to drunken driving causing death. Several other charges, including second-degree murder, will be dismissed as part of a plea deal with Wayne County prosecutors.
Gaval drove a 2021 Ford Expedition through a red traffic signal at Harper Avenue and Vernier Road about 12:30 a.m. Sept. 21, 2021, crashed into a 2014 Charger and then a 2011 Cadillac CTS driven by Nicholas Newman, who was killed, police said of the incident.
Gaval’s vehicle also crashed into a tree.
Gaval and the two others in the Charger were hospitalized.
Newman, 34, of Grosse Pointe Woods, worked at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit as the operations director for Delaware North. The Owosso native also had worked for the Detroit Tigers and Columbus Blue Jackets.
Gaval’s attorney declined to comment.
His former attorney, Mark Awada, said Gaval is “deeply remorseful” about the incident and has remained alcohol and drug free since being released after posting a $200,000 bond.
Gaval, a tattoo artist, likely faces prison time at his sentencing.
Six months before the incident, Gaval was discharged from prison after serving about three years of a one-to-20 year sentence for second-degree aggravated domestic violence in Macomb County.
His previous convictions include attempted furnishing contraband to a prisoner in Branch County, assault with intent to rob while unarmed in Oakland County, and attempted delivery or manufacturing methamphetamine in Macomb County, state records show.
He received probation for assault with intent to rob while unarmed in Macomb County and marijuana possession in Oakland County, according to records.