MONROE - A New Glarus man sentenced to prison Tuesday for his sixth drunk driving conviction told the judge he learned a lesson when he "died twice" en route to the hospital after causing a 2013 crash that also injured a Monroe woman and her toddler.
Carmen F. Ott, 62, will spend a year and a half in prison and three more years on extended supervision for the Class H felony conviction of operating while intoxicated. Four felony counts of causing injury by driving under the influence of alcohol were dismissed, as were two misdemeanor charges of possessing marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
The case stems from a Nov. 1, 2013 accident.
Ott had been drinking and was southbound on Wis. 69 that afternoon when he crossed into the path of an oncoming vehicle. The other driver, Lindsay K. Dahmen, and her toddler son, Drake, were taken to Meriter Hospital for treatment of their injuries. Dahmen's husband, Ryan, was also in the vehicle but reported no injuries.
The crash shattered Ott's hip and a rib, punctured his lung, busted his nose and bent a rod in his leg from a prior motorcycle accident. He's been in and out of a nursing home for rehabilitation and had to learn how to walk again, he said.
"I died twice on the way to the hospital. If that's not a reason not to drink again, I don't know what is," Ott told Judge Thomas Vale during his sentencing hearing Tuesday in Green County Circuit Court.
Assistant State Public Defender Guy Taylor argued for jail time, not prison. Ott has been looking after his 87-year-old father, he said. Jail would at least keep Ott in the county and close to his family.
Taylor asked the judge to impose fewer fines in the case. The accident crippled Ott. He lives on a monthly $700 disability benefits check and isn't likely to be able to work again, he said.
Taylor also praised Ott's character and his demonstrated ability to stay clean on probation and in the 18 months since the accident.
"Mr. Ott's sole diversion is to go fishing, and he doesn't do that with any negative peer group," Taylor said. "He was one of my more cooperative clients and came to see me on a regular basis."
Vale said the case was "a little puzzling."
"I don't get too many 62-year-olds in here," he said. He questioned why Ott's prior punishments of probation and jail time hadn't acted as a deterrent to driving drunk.
"It's a pattern of behavior that hasn't been cured," he said.
Vale also chastised Ott for his marijuana use. Taylor countered that Ott used it to alleviate arthritis pain and, while that's still illegal, it's "a little different than toking it up" recreationally.
Vale went with District Attorney Jeffrey Kohl's recommendation of 18 months in prison but doubled the recommended amount of extended supervision to three years. Jail time would depreciate the seriousness of the crime, Vale said.
In consideration of Ott's fixed income, Vale imposed only the mandatory minimum fine of $600.
He said he sympathized with Ott's desire to stay close to family, "but that's collateral damage." It is more important, he said, to protect the public from Ott and make sure he never drives drunk again.
"I hope you are uncomfortable in prison," he told Ott.
Carmen F. Ott, 62, will spend a year and a half in prison and three more years on extended supervision for the Class H felony conviction of operating while intoxicated. Four felony counts of causing injury by driving under the influence of alcohol were dismissed, as were two misdemeanor charges of possessing marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
The case stems from a Nov. 1, 2013 accident.
Ott had been drinking and was southbound on Wis. 69 that afternoon when he crossed into the path of an oncoming vehicle. The other driver, Lindsay K. Dahmen, and her toddler son, Drake, were taken to Meriter Hospital for treatment of their injuries. Dahmen's husband, Ryan, was also in the vehicle but reported no injuries.
The crash shattered Ott's hip and a rib, punctured his lung, busted his nose and bent a rod in his leg from a prior motorcycle accident. He's been in and out of a nursing home for rehabilitation and had to learn how to walk again, he said.
"I died twice on the way to the hospital. If that's not a reason not to drink again, I don't know what is," Ott told Judge Thomas Vale during his sentencing hearing Tuesday in Green County Circuit Court.
Assistant State Public Defender Guy Taylor argued for jail time, not prison. Ott has been looking after his 87-year-old father, he said. Jail would at least keep Ott in the county and close to his family.
Taylor asked the judge to impose fewer fines in the case. The accident crippled Ott. He lives on a monthly $700 disability benefits check and isn't likely to be able to work again, he said.
Taylor also praised Ott's character and his demonstrated ability to stay clean on probation and in the 18 months since the accident.
"Mr. Ott's sole diversion is to go fishing, and he doesn't do that with any negative peer group," Taylor said. "He was one of my more cooperative clients and came to see me on a regular basis."
Vale said the case was "a little puzzling."
"I don't get too many 62-year-olds in here," he said. He questioned why Ott's prior punishments of probation and jail time hadn't acted as a deterrent to driving drunk.
"It's a pattern of behavior that hasn't been cured," he said.
Vale also chastised Ott for his marijuana use. Taylor countered that Ott used it to alleviate arthritis pain and, while that's still illegal, it's "a little different than toking it up" recreationally.
Vale went with District Attorney Jeffrey Kohl's recommendation of 18 months in prison but doubled the recommended amount of extended supervision to three years. Jail time would depreciate the seriousness of the crime, Vale said.
In consideration of Ott's fixed income, Vale imposed only the mandatory minimum fine of $600.
He said he sympathized with Ott's desire to stay close to family, "but that's collateral damage." It is more important, he said, to protect the public from Ott and make sure he never drives drunk again.
"I hope you are uncomfortable in prison," he told Ott.