Ben Brewer offered his “deepest apologies” Monday to victims of a 2015 crash on Interstate 75, but it didn’t sway a Hamilton County judge from sentencing the trucker to 55 years in prison for his role in the carnage.
“I just want the families to know that I’m sorry, and I hope they will accept my deepest apologies,” Brewer, 42, said. “I’ll keep these families in my prayers forever, and in my life, and may God bless them forever.”
Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Don Poole said while he appreciated Brewer’s apology, he believed the Kentucky man was a “dangerous offender” who had disregard for the six lives he ended on June 25, 2015.
“And here’s what goes into that thinking,” Poole said, referencing several pieces of evidence jurors used to convict Brewer during his vehicular homicide trial in January.
Prosecutors say Brewer crested a portion of Interstate 75 on that June day with methamphetamine in his system, ignored “construction ahead” signs and barreled into slowed traffic. He never hit the brakes, traveling another 453 feet with a crushed car stuck to the front of his 18-wheeler before he stopped. And then, authorities found him with falsified records of how long he’d been traveling, prosecutors said.