AVON — A dump truck driver will spend 16 years in prison for causing a 2019 crash that killed an elderly couple.
Danny Williams was sentenced Thursday to 16 years in the Indiana Department of Correction, 6 years home detention, and 6 years probation.
His driver's license is also suspended for 36 years from the date of the crash.
Williams admitted to snorting heroin before the crash that killed Gerald Legan, 80, and his wife, Rhonda, in 2019.
His attorney declined to comment on the sentence.
Williams pleaded guilty on August 14 to three counts:
- Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated Causing Death, a Level 4 Felony
- Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated Causing Death, a Level 4 Felony
- Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated Causing Catastrophic Injury, a Level 4 Felony
The crash happened on U.S. 36 at County Road 625 East.
READ | Dump truck driver had OWI history before fatal crash
WRTV Investigates found it was not the first time Williams has been accused of driving under the influence.
In June 2014, Greenfield Police arrested Williams on I-70 after he crashed into an INDOT construction sign while driving his Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
Officers observed an empty bottle of Crown Royal on the floorboard and the vehicle smelled of alcohol, court records said.
A witness said he saw Williams’ car swerving, hit a sign, hit a barrier wall and run through a ditch.
Williams told officers he was on his way to Knightstown and admitted to drinking the bottle that was on the floor.
He submitted to a blood test, which showed Williams at .201 BAC.
When your blood alcohol content (BAC) is 0.08% or higher, you're considered legally impaired.
Court records also show his blood tested positive for opiates in the 2014 case.
Williams pleaded guilty in 2015 in Hancock County to operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person.
He received a one-year suspended sentence as well as probation, and had to pay restitution to the Indiana Department of Transportation for damage to a traffic signal.
As part of his 2015 sentence, Williams had to attend a victim impact panel in which victims of impaired driving typically talk to drivers who’ve been charged with operating under the influence.
Williams also had to pay $768 in criminal court costs and fees as well as fees for the alcohol and drug services program, court records show.
In December 2015, a Hancock County court found Williams violated the terms of his probation.
Deputies arrested Williams for probation violations in December 2015 and again in January 2016, records show.
In a separate Hancock County case, Williams pleaded guilty to cocaine possession in March 2015.
He received a one-year sentence, but half of it was suspended with the remainder served on home detention.
The probation violations applied to the cocaine possession case as well, records show, and on January 21, 2016, a judge sentenced Williams to 90 days in the county jail.
However, records show the court had no objection to Williams sentence being served on Community Corrections work release.
He has not previously served time in the state prison system, according to the Indiana Department of Correction website.
