Man gets 7 years for fatal DUI crash in Boone County, prosecutor says
A Burlington man will spend the better part of a decade in prison for a March 2022 DUI crash in Boone County that killed a man and injured a juvenile, the county's top prosecutor confirmed.
Michael Mead, 30, was sentenced on Wednesday morning to seven years in prison, according to Boone County Commonwealth's Attorney Louis Kelly.
Court records show Mead pleaded guilty last month to manslaughter, assault, criminal mischief and operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.
As part of his plea, prosecutors also recommended a six-month driver's license suspension, records show. Suspensions are imposed by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Kelly said, adding the court no longer has discretion over those matters.
Mead was driving a 2006 Dodge Durango west on U.S. Route 42 on the evening of March 20, 2022, when he failed to negotiate a left-hand curve as he passed Ransom Drive, the Boone County Sheriff's Office said.
He then ran off the right side of the road and overcorrected his steering, crossing the center line and T-boning a 2011 Kia Forte driven by Charles Smith, 46, of Union, who was headed east, according to the sheriff's office.
Mead’s SUV came to rest in the side yard of a house along U.S. 42, officials said.
Paramedics were unable to save Smith, the sheriff's office said, and he died at the scene. A juvenile passenger in Smith's car suffered minor injuries and was taken to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. Mead also sustained minor injuries.
Mead surrendered himself to authorities two days after he was indicted by a Boone County grand jury in May 2022, the sheriff's office said.
Ryan Beck, Mead's attorney, said the crash was "just an absolute tragedy."
"Michael has been very remorseful," Beck said. "There's no amount of years or amount of anything that would make what he did right."
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Burlington man sentenced in fatal DUI crash on Boone County highway
