BUFFALO, NY - It was an emotional day in Erie County Court Thursday as a Hamburg woman was sentenced for a DWI crash that claimed the life of a motorcyclist. Jennifer Sage cried as a judge ordered her to spend between four and 12 years behind bars for hitting and killing Christopher Barton.
The father of two young boys was sitting at a red light at the intersection of Route 5 and Amsdell last October when he was hit. Prosecutors say Sage was more than three times over the legal limit at the time of the crash, which was 1:15 in the afternoon.
His wife tried to hold back tears as she told the court how wonderful and responsible her husband was.
“He was a son, a brother and uncle, and a friend. He was extremely intelligent, hard-working, kind and funny,” she told the court. “One of the responsible decisions he made was not to ride at night because he didn't want to be on the road with all the drunks. No one expects someone to be on the road as drunk as you were at one o'clock in the afternoon."
The fatal crash was the third time Sage had been arrested for driving while intoxicated.
