Two men involved in different fatal drunken driving crashes pleaded guilty Friday.
One, 45-year-old Charles A. Silas of Matthews, Ga., started a 15-year prison sentence. The other, 33-year-old Christopher M. Vogt of Augusta, began a two-year sentence.
Mr. Silas pleaded guilty to first-degree homicide by vehicle, possession of open container of alcohol, driving on the wrong side of the road and DUI. He admitted he caused the head-on collision that killed 20-year-old Kevin Simpkins on Deans Bridge Road on Dec. 9, 2006.
Mr. Silas, whose blood alcohol level was .188 that night, had one prior DUI conviction and two other DUI arrests, and a reckless driving conviction that was reduced from a DUI, said Assistant District Attorney Jeff Johnston.
"My family has been destroyed," Mr. Simpkins' mother, Janet Davis, told the judge. She and other family members and friends described a kind, gentle, smart and loving young man who wanted to continue helping others through church missions.
They asked the judge to make it so that Mr. Silas couldn't hurt anyone else.
"I'm very sorry for what happened. If I could take it back I would," Mr. Silas said. He quit drinking and joined Alcoholics Anonymous after the fatal crash.
Mr. Vogt also expressed remorse for killing 45-year-old William Charles Eichner the night of March 8, 2006.
Mr. Eichner was struck by Mr. Vogt's Acura TL at the downtown entrance to the John C. Calhoun Expressway at 12th Street. Mr. Vogt didn't stop. Five hours after the crash, Mr. Vogt's blood alcohol level was .10.
The victim also had been drinking that night, said Assistant District Attorney Adam King. Mr. Eichner's blood alcohol level was .232 and he had traces of cocaine in his system. Because of that and the fact that Mr. Eichner was crossing the street against the light, Mr. King said he agreed to reduce Mr. Vogt's charges to second-degree homicide by vehicle and failure to stop at the scene of an accident.
After Mr. Vogt's family, friends and attorney repeatedly referred to "the accident," Judge Carl C. Brown Jr. asked Mr. Vogt if he was pleading guilty to crimes or maintaining what happened wasn't his fault. It was not a case Judge Brown considered appropriate for probation, he warned. Mr. Vogt had one prior DUI conviction.
After Mr. Vogt completes his time, which can be served in jail locally with early release likely, he will serve four years probation, pay a $3,500 fine and perform 100 hours of community service.
Mr. Silas will have three years on probation once he finishes his prison sentence. He must serve 40 hours of community service and pay a $1,000 fine.
Reach Sandy Hodson at (706) 823-3226 or sandy.hodson@augustachronicle.com.
Comments
4 times caught drinking and driving.. your time to learn your lesson was after # 1, shoulda joined AA then. You wouldnt have ruined so many lives. Someone has to protect the public from you. To bad all you got on the others were slaps on the wrist, it maybe could have saved a young man's life. you musta had a good lawyer. SEVERE sentences for repeat dui offenders, no mercy... lock em all up before they kill someone!!
I know Mr.Vogt personally, and know that he is a good person. What happened to him was a terrible accident. Mr.Vogt panicked and left the scene, but he came back. Mr.Vogt is a fine and moral person, a family man who loves his children. I am sorry he will be taken away from them. He does not belong in jail. He will have to live with what happened the rest of his life.
Sorry hun, but if he cant stop himself from drinking and driving than he needs to be put where he cant have access!! I agree maybe your first dui is a young dumb mistake, anyone with multiples, sympathy diminishes. it cost an innocent young man his life because your dad couldnt learn his lesson after the first several times. Most of my sympathy is with the family of the victim. But I also feel for you and your siblings if you have any, I couldnt imagine losing my dad to jail. But at least he will have a chance to start over when he gets out, Kevin will not. there are many alcoholics in this country who do not drive while drinking, at 45 years old he knew he was risking everyone out there on the roads life, including his own. Maybe Kevin would have been saved had he not gotten away so easy on all his other DUI arrests. I largely blame the scumbag lawyers who get people out of dui's and the judges who fail to give a proper sentence until they kill someone. May God Bless you hun, I know you are hurting too. =(
Vogt received a blessing and better make a change with it!!!! Second dui, leaving the person he hit there to die, and wasnt just intoxicated but drunk as a skunk and serves less than 2 years. Had he hit someone who was not impaired themselves he would be facing much longer.
With all due respect, Mr. Vogt, through his own actions, selfishness, and lack of respect for others, killed someone due to driving under the influence. This is the second time he's been given a DUI. How many other times has he driven drunk and not been caught? I've got no sympathy for drunk drivers. I only wish the penalties were much more severe and immediate with no opportunities to kill someone the second time around. His actions refute any claim that he's a fine, moral person. I feel bad for his family. He's now making them suffer also.
I happen to work for one of those "scumbag's" as you call them. We do help people get out of DUI's. In most cases the ones that get caught really aren't that bad off. We have to have job security just like everyone else. If someone came to us after "accidentally" killing someone while drinking and driving...then no.....we wouldn't help them.
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