Vidor man receives 30 year sentence

 

Last updated 6/4/2012 at Noon



Wayne Lee Wilkerson, 41, of Vidor, pleaded guilty Monday afternoon in the 128th District Court to two counts of intoxication manslaughter. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison on each count to be served consecutively for a total of 30 years. He will have to serve a minimum of 15 years before he is first eligible for parole. He could have received a sentence of 25 years to life for the second degree felony which was enhanced. The vehicle he was driving was found to be a deadly weapon.

The charges stem from an incident on Dec. 15, 2009 when Wilkerson crossed the center line into oncoming traffic causing the deaths of Ann Lynette Sizemore, 42, of Rye and James McCollough, 45, of Call.

According to reports from the Texas Department of Public Safety, Sizemore was driving a 1996 Dodge Dakota pickup truck east on State Highway 12 while Wilkerson was driving west in a 2000 GMC Yukon. Upon impact to the front of the pickup,it flipped over onto the roof of the vehicle.

Sizemore and McCollough were pronounced dead at the scene. Wilkerson and his passenger, 39-year-old Mary McDaniel, received non-life threatening injuries.

Witnesses reported to troopers they saw Wilkerson fail to maintain a single lane and suddenly go completely into the opposite lane of travel and strike the pickup head-on. The witness approached the scene following the wreck and Wilkerson who who was laying in the grass on the side of the roadway stated he was not driving when the incident occurred. However, Wilkerson would later tell an ambulance driver he was driving the vehicle.

Wilkerson reported to troopers he was driving and suffered a "blow-out" on the left front tire. But, at the hospital the following day said he fell asleep at the wheel and it was not a blow-out. He added he had used drugs the morning of the wreck.

According to reports, he tested positive for stimulants.

Wayne Wilkerson

While the judge was sentencing Wilkerson, the daughter of the deceased couple sobbed. She managed to gain control and give a victim impact statement.

"I lost my best friends, " said Jennifer Silva, 26, of Cleveland."My mom and dad were everything to me."

To Wilkerson she added, " I hope you realize that you took two amazing people."

After she returned to her seat the sounds of her sobbing filled the once quiet courtroom. Wilkerson was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs. He gazed at Silva with tears in his eyes as he passed by on his way out.

Silva urges all people to take the time to spend with their family and friends as much as possible.

"Spend time with those you love and don't assume they are always going to be there," she said.

 

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