A 52-year-old man was sentenced to a four-year prison term Friday for being high when he killed another motorist in a head-on crash in Carver County in June 2021.
Daniel J. Wittenberg of Excelsior was sentenced in District Court after pleading guilty to criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the collision that occurred June 13 about 5 miles northwest of Waconia along Hwy. 7 in Watertown Township that killed Ramona J. Wakefield, 58, of Dassel, Minn.
Wittenberg can expect to serve the first 2⅔ years in prison and the balance on supervised release.
Wittenberg was heading east in his car on Hwy. 7 about 2:45 p.m. when he crossed the centerline and hit Wakefield's westbound compact vehicle, according to the criminal complaint. Emergency responders declared her dead at the scene.
A test of blood drawn at HCMC soon after the crash revealed Wittenberg had fentanyl, oxycodone and other potent drugs in his system at the time of the crash, the complaint read.
