Francisco J. Gonzalez

The man who drove drunk and slammed into a horse pulling a wagon load of Amish teens last fall will spend approximately 18 months in county work release.

Francisco J. Gonzalez, 25, of Warsaw, was driving drunk on Sept. 29, 2012, shortly before midnight. Traveling south on Sheldon Street near Walmart, he first drove around the horse-drawn wagon. According to Floyd Miller, who’s son was on the wagon, Gonzalez continued to “the (Walmart) parking lot, made a U-turn and came back. They said first he swerved a little bit, then he came back in and gunned it.”

The car Gonzalez was driving struck the horse, 6-year-old Jenny, splitting the horse’s sternum and resulting in her gruesome death. The impact of the collision also threw the five Amish boys from the wagon and into the street. It was then that Gonzalez backed his car and drove away from the scene. He was found by Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department deputies a few miles away where his vehicle had stalled. He was covered in blood.

Gonzalez was taken to a Fort Wayne hospital where his blood alcohol level registered at .17 percent, well above the legal limit. He was arrested three days after the incident and charged with failure to stop after an accident causing serious bodily injury, a Class B felony; and operating while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury, a Class D felony.

But in a plea agreement, Gonzalez was sentenced on reduced charges. The first charge was reduced from a B felony to a Class A misdemeanor for failure to stop after an accident. For that charge, Superior Court III Judge Joe Sutton sentenced Gonzalez to 365 days at the county jail, with all but 185 days suspended to be served on probation.

On a second count of D felony OWI endangerment, Gonzalez was also sentenced to 365 days with 185 days suspended. On a third D felony charge of criminal recklessness, he was ordered to 3 years imprisonment, with 2 years suspended.

Because Gonzalez qualified for Kosciusko Count Work Release, he will spend about 18 months in the work release center. After that time is completed, he will have to abide by the rules of probation for 6 months.

Defense attorney Scott Lennox asked the judge to front load the probation and allow Gonzalez time to get his family’s affairs in order before reporting to work release. Deputy prosecutor Christanne Hampton, however, noted this is a “very serious offense and I understand he doesn’t have a criminal history, but it’s a serious, violent offense. He was extremely lucky there was not more significant injury.”

Hampton also noted Gonzalez has continued to use drugs while he has been out on bond and undergoing substance abuse courses at Bowen Center. “The work release environment needs to be served up front as it would provide necessary structure needed for him to make better life decisions and realize the seriousness of what he’s done.” Hampton added, “He never provided a statement of remorse, but I’d say it’s the continued drug use that does not warrant for front loading probation.”

Lennox did not disagree with the horrific details of the crime, but he did say Gonzalez’s  “willingness to handle the matter, that fact he has no prior criminal history …. and made a very poor judgement; his actions and conduct were something he regrets and he’s taken Bowen Center courses to fix that.”

Ultimately, Judge Sutton agreed Gonzalez should serve his jail time sentence first, but did allow Gonzalez until 6 p.m. Sunday to report to the Kosciusko County Jail to begin his work release program.

Gonzalez was ordered to pay just $90 in restitution to the victim for chiropractor costs. The other claims, totaling $7,714, has been paid through to the victims by insurance.

Due to the drunk driving incident, Gonzalez also had his driving privileges suspended for 1 year, which was retroactive from Oct. 2, 2012. The leaving the scene charge carries with it an additional 6 month driver license suspension.

See related:
Horse Killed by Drunk Driver
Victim’s Dad Says Act Was Intentional
UPDATE: Hit and Run Suspect Arrested