SHAWANO, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A man convicted in a triple-fatal crash who argued the judge erred at sentencing by how his marijuana use was treated at sentencing has lost his appeal.
Ryan Swadner was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the October, 2014 crash in Belle Plaine. Paige Brunette, Cody Borsche and Tyler Welch, all passengers in Swadner’s vehicle, were killed.
Swadner, then 17, had used marijuana the day before the crash. Wisconsin law prohibits any detectable amount of marijuana for drivers; unlike alcohol, there is no acceptable limit before someone is considered impaired.
He pleaded no contest to three charges of homicide by operation of a vehicle while having a detectable amount of a restricted controlled substance in his blood. Swadner filed a postconviction motion arguing the circuit court erroneously exercised its sentencing discretion by viewing him more culpable based on a conclusion that he was impaired at the time of the crash.
In a 12-page decision issued Tuesday, the Court of Appeals rejected Swadner’s argument.
“We are not persuaded. The circuit court did not find that Swadner was impaired by drugs when he crashed. In fact, during the sentencing hearing, the court explained that the legislature enacted strict liability offenses to clarify that the very act of operating a motor vehicle with the presence of illegal drugs, was, in and of itself, a serious matter regardless of the driver’s impairment. Additionally, the court referenced cited statistics to fatal automobile crashes and drug use, and recognized that “the amount of accidents or crashes that are perhaps occurring because people have a controlled substance in their systems, it’s an alarming amount of tragedy and death because of this.” In context, the court’s comments reflect that it faulted Swadner not because it believed he was impaired at the time of the crash, but because he made the decision to put himself and others at risk by driving some time after ingesting THC,” the court wrote.
The appeals court also rejected Swadner’s argument the sentencing judge didn’t give enough weight to his age at the time of the crash.
