LORAIN COUNTY -- A man will spend 34 years in prison for causing a fatal crash that claimed the lives of a Lorain County deputy's wife and son.
A judge sentenced Gerald Wetherbee Jr. of Oberlin in an emotional hearing Friday morning. Wetherbee pleaded guilty earlier this month to charges including DUI and aggravated vehicular homicide.
Prosecutors say, in June 2011, Wetherbee went left of center on state Route 83 and hit a car carrying Cpl. Thomas Tomasheski and his family. The crash claimed the lives of Tomasheski's wife, Tammy, and 11-year-old son, Thomas III. Cpl. Tomasheski and his daughter were critically injured but survived.
Wetherbee has emphysema and Judge James Burge told him he believed it was doubtful he'd survive the sentence.
"Between now and then, get right with God," the Judge said.
Thomas Tomasheski, his brother, Todd and father, Thomas all spoke. They emotionally told the court of what happened that night and how Wetherbee's actions devastated their family.
WKYC-TV