RSSDriver gets 41 months for crash that killed friend
Yakima Herald-Republic
Mary Pat Holwegner, center, weeps as members of her family read statements to the court before the sentencing of Zachary Sluder of vehicular homicide in the death of her son, Ryan Holwegner on Friday, October 10, 2008.
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A 28-year-old Yakima man was sentenced Friday to 41 months in jail for killing his friend in a drunken-driving crash last winter.
Before he was sentenced in Yakima County Superior Court, Zachary Sluder apologized profusely for his actions.
“Ryan will always be in my heart. I will live for him,” he said. “I miss my friend so much. I’m sorry. I loved him.”
A jury found Sluder guilty of vehicular homicide last week for the death of 30-year-old Ryan Holwegner of Moxee in February 2007.
During the trial, prosecution witnesses testified that they saw Sluder driving away from a Moxee tavern in his Chevrolet Lumina minutes before the crash, with Holwegner as his passenger.
When state troopers arrived to investigate, Sluder told them he was the only one in the vehicle. Troopers suspected Sluder had been drinking, but he refused a blood test.
Holwegner’s body was discovered more than 36 hours later, 140 feet from the crash site. It was well outside the zone where debris and occupants should have been discovered. The question of who moved the body was never answered.
During the sentencing, deputy prosecutor Erika Soublet read letters from Holwegner’s family that described him as an honest, loyal person with a zest for life and a smile that would light up a room.
Holwegner’s father, Jon, wrote that he didn’t want leniency for Sluder, who has shown a lack of remorse for his actions. In his letter, he expressed hope that Sluder would turn his life over to God.
Holwegner’s sister, Tressa Stadel, said she and her family only wanted the truth. Instead, Sluder failed to stand up and take responsibility for his actions.
After Holwegner’s family members spoke, Sluder turned toward them in court and read his own statement. He described Holwegner as his hero and said he will be forever changed by this experience.
He said he had forgotten Holwegner had been in the car with him and would never have left him had he remembered.
“If I had known Ryan was there, I would have held him in my arms,” he said, crying. “I’m so sorry for your guys’ loss.”
Judge Michael McCarthy said he believes Sluder was so intoxicated at the time of the crash that he had forgotten Holwegner was with him. But he’s equally confident that Sluder later regained his memory and that somebody had moved Holwegner’s body.
Because of these unusual circumstances, he sentenced Sluder to the most jail time allowable by law. Sluder’s sentence could have ranged anywhere from 31 to 41 months because of his lack of serious criminal history.
During the trial, Sluder’s attorney suggested that either Sluder was the passenger or Holwegner wasn’t even in the vehicle. But Sluder’s injuries were consistent with wearing a left-side seat belt; the driver’s seat belt in his car was the only one that showed a collision-related defect.
Erin Snelgrove can be reached at 577-7684 or at esnelgrove@yakimaherald.com
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