Fatal DUI nets 30-day sentence
David Cole | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 13 years, 2 months AGO
COEUR d'ALENE - A 19-year-old Desmet woman on Tuesday was sentenced to 30 days in jail for the death of a 22-year-old friend - the person she ran over with her car while she was speeding and drunk.
Andrea M. George pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in June for killing Patrick A. Gourneau on April 19, 2010, on the Coeur d'Alene Tribe's reservation.
U.S. District Court Judge Edward Lodge ordered her to report for 10 separate three-day weekend lockups.
"I want you to hear the jail cells clank," Lodge said.
George also was given six months of home confinement, and ordered to spend another six months living in a halfway house.
Her driver's license will be suspended for a year, she must complete 80 hours of community service and pay $3,000 in restitution covering funeral costs for Gourneau.
George, apologizing to Gourneau's family, told the court, "I would do anything in the world to take back what happened that morning."
Her defense attorney, James Siebe, said, "She's living in her own private prison."
George was eastbound on Desmet Road when she crested a hill in a residential area and struck Gourneau, who was standing in the roadway.
She was driving 82 mph in a 25-mph zone, slammed on her brakes and hit Gourneau going 50-plus mph.
Gourneau died at the scene, at the intersection of Desmet and Ajot roads.
George was intoxicated, with a blood alcohol level of .15 percent, while Gourneau's was more than .3 percent.
The two had been partying together earlier, George had dropped him off, and she was on her way to pick him up. They had grown up together, and the two families were close.
Gourneau flew through the windshield of George's 2002 Honda Accord, severely injuring her face. She was flown to a Spokane hospital, and later had facial reconstruction surgery.
George has no prior criminal convictions.
Gourneau's aunt, Suzi Friedlander, speaking for the family, said, "We're the ones facing a life sentence."