Truck driver appeals manslaughter sentence
Last Updated: Friday, November 6, 2009 | 11:29 AM MT
CBC News
A cement truck driver who killed five people when he plowed into the back of a car is appealing his sentence.
Daniel Tschetter's lawyer filed the appeal on Wednesday.
Tschetter, who lives in Cochrane, was found guilty of five counts of manslaughter and one count of obstruction of justice in the December 2007 crash.
He was sentenced last month to eight years in prison, but the judge factored in time served and other circumstances, reducing his actual sentence to about five and a half years.
Tschetter won't be able to hold a regular driver's licence for five years after his release. He is also banned from owning firearms and must submit a DNA sample.
The car's occupants — Chris Gautreau, 41, his daughters, Alexia, 9, and Kiarra, 6, Gautreau's fiancée, Melaina Hovdebo, 33, and her son, Zachary Morrison, 16 months — were killed.
The surviving parents of the children are seeking more than $3.5 million in compensation from Tschetter and C & J Construction, the company that employed him.
