Wrong-way I-94 driver receives 25-year sentence after killing Twin Cities musician
New highway footage captures wrong way driver before deadly crash killed local rocker
Nearly two weeks after a guitarist was killed in a crash that police say was caused by a drunk, wrong-way driver on I-94 in Wisconsin, the victim's family remains devastated and they are demanding action to prevent further tragedies.
ST. CROIX COUNTY, Wis. (FOX 9) - A woman has been sentenced for killing a man while driving the wrong-way on I-94 last Halloween while intoxicated, killing Twin Cities musician Mark Filbrandt in the process.
Judge Scott R. Needham in St. Croix County, Wisconsin, sentenced Amber Popisil, 31, to 15 years of incarceration and 10 years of probation on Friday for her actions during the deadly crash.
"All of this could have been prevented… This was a choice with catastrophic consequences," Needham said prior to administering the sentence.
As a "truth in sentencing" state, Wisconsin requires all sentences be served in the full amount, not offering parole or good behavior early release.
According to Filbrandt’s bandmate, Brennon Betz – who shared the stage with Filbrandt in the metal group Gorrified – they had just played at a Wisconsin brewery the night of the crash when Pospisil hit his vehicle on the I-94 stretch near the Hudson area.
Pospisil was not seriously injured during the crash, and was charged with homicide by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle.
Authorities reported she was drinking a bottle of Tito’s vodka in her car on the way back from a wedding, and had no memory of getting on the interstate heading the wrong way. According to court documents, Pospisil had a preliminary breath test of .218 at the scene – more than two-and-a-half times the legal limit to drive.
The arrest was not her first time being charged with a drunk driving offense, after previously pleading guilty last year to causing a crash in Minnesota. Her blood alcohol content in that incident was reported at .296 – more than three times the legal limit to legally drive.
Greg Filbrandt, an older brother to Mark, spoke prior to the sentencing, lamenting the leniency Pospisil had previously received, describing how Mark had overcome addiction himself and had his life on track now, and saying, "If she had been in jail getting sober, my brother Mark would be alive today… The drunk driver should be the one killed, not the innocent sober victim driving the correct way on the freeway… This whole thing sucks."