LAKE HAVASU CITY – A Lake Havasu City woman celebrated her 64th birthday the day before she was killed by a drunk driver while she was traveling to California to witness the birth of her 6th grandchild. The woman was talking to her husband on the cellphone when the crash occurred, the call dropped and he subsequently drove by the crash site.
This was some of the information provided at a Sept. 21 sentencing hearing for Connor Roberts, 26, Kingman. Roberts pleaded guilty to aggravated wrong-way drunk driving and manslaughter for the March 10 crash on State Route 95, three miles from the Interstate 40 junction outside Lake Havasu that claimed the life of Barbara Niemeyer.
About 15 family members and friends of the victim packed one side of Judge Doug Camacho’s courtroom for the hearing. Speakers read letters from family members into the record for about 20 minutes, professing profound suffering and loss.
“The impact on family and friends was overwhelming,” Charles Niemeyer said of the death of his wife. “The feeling of loss was unbearable.”
“My wife was full of love for life,” his letter continued. “Her grandkids were her pride and joy.”
One of the victim’s daughters told the Court that her dad is a lost and empty shell of his former self and that her 11-year-old daughter has cried for months after the death of her grandmother.
“She was loving and selfless and devoted to making the world a better place one smile at a time,” the daughter said of Niemeyer.
Roberts struggled with emotion as he read his letter to the Court, repeatedly apologizing for his poor choices and the suffering that results.
“I’m sorry for what I’ve put you through,” Roberts said. “I know there’s no apology that can make up for what I did.”
Judge Camacho said he was tempted to reject the punishment limitations of the plea, but he sentenced Roberts to 10.5-years in prison as mandated in the plea deal. He called the case an absolute tragedy that should have been avoided.
“I can feel the pain that the victim’s family has suffered because of these offenses,” Camacho said. “I am absolutely convinced that there is nothing that this Court could do to ease the pain that they feel.’’
