4-year term for Minnesota man who was drunk, speeding when he hit a woman’s SUV and killed her

A man with a history of driving drunk received a four-year term Monday for being intoxicated and speeding when he hit a woman’s SUV on a southern Minnesota highway and killed her.

John R. Deleo, 54, of Lake Crystal, Minn., was sentenced in Brown County District Court after pleading guilty to criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the crash on Aug. 17, 2023, at Hwy. 68 and S. 15th Street that killed 82-year-old Sharon A. Portner of New Ulm.

With credit for the two days he was in jail after his arrest, Deleo is expected to serve the first 2⅔ years years of his term in prison and the balance on supervised release.

A week ahead of sentencing, defense attorney James Kuettner asked the court to spare his client prison and put him on probation for up to five years.

Kuettner pointed out in his filing that Deleo stayed at the crash scene and attempted “to aid Portner, and he left [her] side only when directed to by law enforcement.”

The attorney also noted that Deleo has been sober since the crash, and therefore, at a particularly low risk for reoffending.

According to the criminal complaint:

The officers saw that Deleo smelled of alcohol as he stumbled and had trouble speaking.

He told police he picked up food at a bar and was heading back home. Deleo refused to take a preliminary breath test to determine whether he was intoxicated. He first denied having any drinks and then said he had two.

A bar employee gave Deleo his food order and heard him declare, “I’m going to hit 160 on the way home” before walking out, the charges quoted him as saying.

A witness estimated that Deleo was heading south on Broadway at 50 to 60 miles per hour in his BMW sedan when he struck Portner’s SUV as she turned left in front of him.