By By NORMA LERNER / Dowagiac Daily News
CASSOPOLIS – Michael Tastula, 48, of Vandalia, was driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.25 percent – more than three times the legal limit – last Sept. 24 when he struck and killed with his pickup truck 14-year-old Willa Lynn Barber as she walked along Carter Lake Street with her boyfriend in Porter Township.
Friday morning in Cass County Circuit Court, Tastula, of 65590 Lakeview Drive, was imposed a two- to five-year prison term by Circuit Judge Michael Dodge on a conviction for attempted operating while intoxicated causing death.
Dodge said Tastula drove away from the scene, but stopped around the corner.
Willa's friend, Brian Hawk, ran back to Willa's home to summon help.
Dodge said Tastula thought he hit a deer and then thought it was a person.
He said it was dark and the couple were wearing dark clothing.
"It is clear you were not capable of operating a vehicle," Dodge said.
The judge noted Tastula has had four misdemeanors and this makes his fourth drunk driving conviction, with the last one in Elkhart County in 2001.
"You have had a problem with alcohol for quite some time. You continued to drink and drive. Now someone is dead," Dodge said.
Tastula sobbed prior to sentencing and apologized to the Barber family.
Willa Lynn's father, Daniel, addressed the court.
He said he and her mother, Benita, will never forget the night when they got a phone call that "Willa doesn't look good. She was dead. They said she was going to die. She was already dead. She was lying on the hospital table with tubes in her body. We had to tell Jessie that his sister was dead, run down by a drunk. She was 14 and a freshman at Constantine High School."
Barber said his heart was cut out with a knife that will never heal. "Death of a child is not acceptable. We will never see any of Willa's grandchildren," he said.
Defense Attorney Thomas Hirsch asked for probation and local jail time for Tastula. He said he thought he hit a deer. He said Tastula goes to therapy. It's a terrible loss for the family, friends and relatives. "He suffers too," he said.
Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz said a car is a dangerous weapon of many pounds. The community, family and friends are devastated. "As an adult, he made a conscious decision to drive drunk. He knew how drunk he was," he said, in asking for prison time.[ok]