A 29-year-old motorist has been sentenced to a four-year term for being drunk when she struck and killed a motorcyclist in northeast Minneapolis.
Hannah C. Weyh, 29, was sentenced last week in Hennepin County District Court in connection with the collision in November that killed 31-year-old Brandon Pearson, of Golden Valley.
Weyh, who grew up in the Twin Cities and was living in Washington state at the time of the wreck, will serve the first three years of her term in prison and the rest on supervised release. Her sentence includes paying restitution of more than $12,000.
Weyh, who pleaded guilty to criminal vehicular homicide, had a blood alcohol content level of 0.19 percent when she turned in front of the motorcycle. That's more than twice the legal level for driving in Minnesota.
She told police that she was heading west on Broadway Avenue about 6 p.m., remembered needing to feed her dog and looked for a place to turn around.
Weyh was turning left into a parking lot when Pearson's eastbound motorcycle struck the front passenger side of the car. Pearson was not wearing a helmet, police said.
Weyh contended that the eastbound motorcycle's lights were not on, but witnesses also driving on Broadway contradicted her.
