MONROE - A Monroe woman with dozens of letters of support from the community was sentenced Thursday in Green County Circuit Court for a drunken driving crash in July that cost a young motorcyclist his leg.
Heidi R. Valentin, 33, pleaded no contest to a Class F felony charge of causing injury by driving with a prohibited blood-alcohol concentration. As part of a plea deal, a Class F felony charge of causing injury by intoxicated use of a vehicle was dismissed.
Judge Thomas Vale sentenced her to four years on probation - a year less than the state requested - and one year in jail. Valentin is eligible to serve her time at home on electronic monitoring and with Huber work-release privileges.
"This is the type of case that keeps me awake at night," Vale said.
A Class F felony is punishable by up to 12-and-a-half years in prison, but Vale said prison was not appropriate in this case, given Valentin's clean record, no evidence of an alcohol-abuse problem and letters from the community attesting to her good character.
About 20 people from the community attended Valentin's sentencing, a rare turnout of support.
For many defendants who come through his courtroom, "those seats are empty," Vale said.
Still, "you're responsible for consuming that alcohol" and for causing injuries the victim will have to live with the rest of his life, Vale told Valentin.
The crash happened in the early morning hours of July 2 in the Town of Clarno. Valentin was driving home alone from a restaurant in South Wayne when she crossed the centerline of Wisconsin 11 into the path of a motorcyclist.
The motorcyclist, a 26-year-old man from Warren, was ejected.
Green County Deputy Tanner Gilbert, the first responder to the accident scene, found the man lying in a ditch with a partially severed leg and saved his life by applying a tourniquet to the leg until paramedics arrived and took over.
Officers found Valentin sitting in her Ford Focus in a ditch, "conscious but confused," according to police reports. She later registered a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.136 percent. The limit for drivers in Wisconsin is 0.08 percent.
A deputy at the scene found the motorcyclist's "kneecap wedged in the crumpled remains" of Valentin's car, Assistant District Attorney Laura Kohl said at the sentencing.
At this gruesome detail, Valentin bent over and shook with sobs.
"This was an entirely innocent 26-year-old man" driving home from bowling with friends, Kohl said, adding that his injuries were "truly horrific." He had to have a leg amputated, among other injuries including a femur fracture and damage to his kidney.
The victim was not at Thursday's sentencing. He did not return a victim-impact statement to the court and indicated no opinion on Valentin's sentencing, according to Kohl.
"He essentially expressed that he wanted it to be over," Kohl said. Now disabled for life and with sole custody of a 5-year-old child, "he wants to focus on himself."
Defense attorney Gregory Knoke said Valentin has asked to meet with the victim in person to express her remorse but the victim wasn't emotionally ready at the time.
"Heidi's hoping for that in the future," Knoke said.
Knoke said Valentin's alcohol use was out of character the night of the accident. She was still reeling from "a tragic event" she experienced in her personal life the previous morning.
"She's not a drinking person," Knoke said, arguing that incarceration would be pointless in her case and would take her away from her son.
Knoke said the community support Valentin received is unusual. Typically, when he asks for statements of support for defendants, "usually two or three trickle in." In Valentin's case, "53 people signed endorsement statements."
When Judge Vale gave Valentin the opportunity to make a statement, she said she accepted "full responsibility."
"Every day," she said, choked by emotion, "I think about the impact (on the victim), and I wish there was something more I could do for him."
Heidi R. Valentin, 33, pleaded no contest to a Class F felony charge of causing injury by driving with a prohibited blood-alcohol concentration. As part of a plea deal, a Class F felony charge of causing injury by intoxicated use of a vehicle was dismissed.
Judge Thomas Vale sentenced her to four years on probation - a year less than the state requested - and one year in jail. Valentin is eligible to serve her time at home on electronic monitoring and with Huber work-release privileges.
"This is the type of case that keeps me awake at night," Vale said.
A Class F felony is punishable by up to 12-and-a-half years in prison, but Vale said prison was not appropriate in this case, given Valentin's clean record, no evidence of an alcohol-abuse problem and letters from the community attesting to her good character.
About 20 people from the community attended Valentin's sentencing, a rare turnout of support.
For many defendants who come through his courtroom, "those seats are empty," Vale said.
Still, "you're responsible for consuming that alcohol" and for causing injuries the victim will have to live with the rest of his life, Vale told Valentin.
The crash happened in the early morning hours of July 2 in the Town of Clarno. Valentin was driving home alone from a restaurant in South Wayne when she crossed the centerline of Wisconsin 11 into the path of a motorcyclist.
The motorcyclist, a 26-year-old man from Warren, was ejected.
Green County Deputy Tanner Gilbert, the first responder to the accident scene, found the man lying in a ditch with a partially severed leg and saved his life by applying a tourniquet to the leg until paramedics arrived and took over.
Officers found Valentin sitting in her Ford Focus in a ditch, "conscious but confused," according to police reports. She later registered a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.136 percent. The limit for drivers in Wisconsin is 0.08 percent.
A deputy at the scene found the motorcyclist's "kneecap wedged in the crumpled remains" of Valentin's car, Assistant District Attorney Laura Kohl said at the sentencing.
At this gruesome detail, Valentin bent over and shook with sobs.
"This was an entirely innocent 26-year-old man" driving home from bowling with friends, Kohl said, adding that his injuries were "truly horrific." He had to have a leg amputated, among other injuries including a femur fracture and damage to his kidney.
The victim was not at Thursday's sentencing. He did not return a victim-impact statement to the court and indicated no opinion on Valentin's sentencing, according to Kohl.
"He essentially expressed that he wanted it to be over," Kohl said. Now disabled for life and with sole custody of a 5-year-old child, "he wants to focus on himself."
Defense attorney Gregory Knoke said Valentin has asked to meet with the victim in person to express her remorse but the victim wasn't emotionally ready at the time.
"Heidi's hoping for that in the future," Knoke said.
Knoke said Valentin's alcohol use was out of character the night of the accident. She was still reeling from "a tragic event" she experienced in her personal life the previous morning.
"She's not a drinking person," Knoke said, arguing that incarceration would be pointless in her case and would take her away from her son.
Knoke said the community support Valentin received is unusual. Typically, when he asks for statements of support for defendants, "usually two or three trickle in." In Valentin's case, "53 people signed endorsement statements."
When Judge Vale gave Valentin the opportunity to make a statement, she said she accepted "full responsibility."
"Every day," she said, choked by emotion, "I think about the impact (on the victim), and I wish there was something more I could do for him."