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Harvell gets 1 year in jail, probation

MARSHALL — In the months since a crash involving a drunk driver and three motorcycles in Marshall, victims said their lives have been turned upside down.

In statements at a sentencing hearing for Tamara Lee Harvell on Monday, the three men injured in the crash described living with severe physical and mental pain, disability, and major changes in their lives. And in her own statement to the court, Harvell said she was “full of remorse” for her actions.

Harvell, 55, was sentenced in Lyon County District Court for her role in the June 28 crash. In February, she pleaded guilty to two counts of felony criminal vehicular operation, one count of gross misdemeanor criminal vehicular operation, second degree driving while impaired, and two counts of child endangerment.

All together, Harvell’s sentences amount to a year in the Lyon County jail, plus eight years of probation, with conditions including that Harvell complete at least 100 hours of community service or Sentenced To Service work for each year she is in supervised probation.

In a February court hearing, Harvell admitted to hitting a motorcycle in the left turn lane at the intersection of Minnesota Highway 23 and Highway 19 in Marshall. She also admitted driving with an alcohol level of .224, and having two children in the vehicle with her at the time of the crash.

Three motorcyclists, all stopped at a traffic light, were injured in the collision. One lost a leg in the crash, and another had to have a leg amputated later.

Before a sentence was handed down Monday, the court heard victim statements from all three of the men injured in the crash. Crash victim Wayne Patterson appeared via interactive television from the Bay County courthouse in Bay City, Michigan, and written statements from victims Daniel Flynn and John McInchak were read in court.

“I don’t see any justification for leniency here,” Patterson said. On the ITV screen, Patterson and his wife Anne could be seen seated in the Bay County courtroom. Patterson showed the court the stump of his right leg, which had to be amputated after the crash, as well as injuries to the calf muscles of his left leg.

“I spend all of my life now in a wheelchair,” Patterson said. He said his injuries from the crash cause him pain and have prevented him from working as a self-employed builder.

Anne Patterson said Wayne had to go through eight surgeries and spent more than 60 days in the hospital after the crash. Speaking to Harvell, she said, “I can’t tell you how you have affected our lives. You will never know, ever.”

Flynn and McInchak had similar things to say in their written statements, which were read out loud by a Minnesota Department of Corrections agent.

“This accident has turned my life upside down,” Flynn said in his statement. Flynn said losing his right leg in the crash left him in a lot of physical pain, and made him unable to care for his home or go out to meet with his business customers.

In his statement, McInchak said he was receiving therapy after witnessing what happened to his friends in the crash.

“Three men’s lives, and their families, have been changed forever,” McInchak said in his statement. “She needs to be held responsible for her actions on that evening.”

Harvell said she was “full of remorse,” and empathy for the crash victims.

“I’m so sorry for the pain and suffering I caused,” Harvell said. She said she wished she could erase that pain and suffering. Harvell also said she asked the court for mercy. Her actions June 28 were “not who I am,” she said.

“I am suffering consequences already, and I will continue to suffer for them for the rest of my life,” she said.

Harvell’s attorney, Kyle O’Dwyer, said Harvell hadn’t planned on driving the night of the crash. But when some expected provisions weren’t dropped off at the site where she and the two children were camping, she tried to go and get provisions, O’Dwyer said.

“Ms. Harvell isn’t a typical criminal defendant,” O’Dwyer said. He said Harvell is both a military veteran and a retired police lieutenant.

“This is an incident that could have — should have — never happened,” said Lyon County Attorney Rick Maes. Maes said the state would like to see Harvell receive the maximum sentence, but he realized the court was restricted by what Minnesota laws allowed.

Maes proposed that Harvell receive consecutive sentences for the criminal charges against her. In consecutive sentencing, a convicted person serves sentences for separate criminal charges one after the other. This results in a longer time spent in jail, prison or probation. In concurrent sentencing, jail or probation time counts toward more than one criminal charge at the same time.

Maes said he also didn’t think the state could legally impose sentences on Harvell for both the child endangerment and second degree DWI charges. So, he was asking that the court sentence Harvell for child endangerment charges.

“This is an awful reminder … about what drinking and driving exposes us to right here in our community,” Judge Leland Bush said of Harvell’s case. Harvell will live with the knowledge of the harm she caused, he said.

Bush said he needed to follow criminal law in sentencing Harvell. That would include considering that Harvell had no past criminal history, and that by law, the sentences for the two counts of felony criminal vehicular operation had to be concurrent.

Bush sentenced Harvell for the child endangerment charges, instead of the second degree DWI charges. Harvell was given concurrent sentences for the two charges, of one year in the Lyon County jail with credit for 40 days already served. Each child endangerment sentence carried a $300 fine.

For the gross misdemeanor criminal vehicular operation charge, Harvell received a stayed sentence of one year in jail, with a $400 fine and two years probation. Probation conditions for that charge included serving 90 days in jail.

For the two felony criminal vehicular operation charges, Harvell received stayed prison sentences of 23 and 28 months, with two $600 fines and six years probation. Probation for the felony criminal vehicular operation charges would be consecutive to probation for the gross misdemeanor charge, Bush said.

Conditions for Harvell’s probation include undergoing random drug or alcohol testing, completing a cognitive skills course and paying restitution. Bush said the court would also add further probation requirements. First, Harvell will need to complete a minimum of 100 hours of community service or Sentenced to Service work each year she is in supervised probation. Harvell will also be subject to 30 days of electronic alcohol monitoring each year she is in probation.

Bush said the final year of Harvell’s probation would be unsupervised.

Additional charges against Harvell, including three counts of criminal vehicular operation, and driving under the influence, were dismissed.

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