Drunk driver sentenced for driving wrong way on US-23, killing 2 women

NORTHFIELD TWP, Mich. (FOX 2) - An intoxicated man driving the wrong way down US-23 was sentenced to prison Wednesday for a multi-car crash that killed two women.

Edwin Brown, 75, of Chelsea was charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of operating while intoxicated causing death for a deadly crash on April 8. The second-degree murder charges were dropped as part of a plea deal, and Brown was sentenced to 10-15 years on each count to be served consecutively. 

Police said Brown was driving a Chevy Bolt the wrong way southbound on US-23 near 6 Mile Road in Northfield Township and struck a Ford Fusion, killing 51-year-old Debbie Pinson of Broadview Heights, Ohio, and 56-year-old Cathy Kretzshmer, of Olmsted Township, Ohio.

Wrong way driver, 74, responsible for accident that killed two in Washtenaw County: police

The driver of that Fusion was taken to the hospital. A pickup truck carrying two people from Ann Arbor and an SUV with one driver were also involved in the crash, and all survived. 

Pinson's brother, David Watt, said their family is a shell of what they once were.

"There was a big empty void after Debbie's death ... the ripple effect of her death will be felt years from now," he said.

The driver of the car carrying Pinson and Kretzshmer, Daniel Eidt, described the image of a car barreling toward his, going the wrong way down US-23. 

"That will be a picture that I see in my mind for the rest of my life," he said.

Eidt said after the impact, he called out to see if they were OK - no response. He jumped out of the car, and couldn't detect a pulse in either one.

Multi-car crash on U.S. 23 kills two people

"Finding loved ones dead is the single most horrible thing you'll ever have to witness in your life," he said.

Brown took the opportunity to speak before learning his sentence, apologizing to the friends and families of the victims for the pain he caused them.

"The choices I made on April 8 were completely irresponsible, selfish and unforgivable. They do not represent how I've lived my life for the past 75 years," he said.

He said almost three weeks after the accident, when he was told when he had done, he was devastated. 

"I'll now spend the remainder of my life in prison and not a day will go by that I won't think about what I've done," he said.