KALAMAZOO (WKZO AM/FM) — A victim’s family is asking a Kalamazoo County judge for a lesser sentence and forgiving a drunk driver after a fatal crash last year.
On Monday, 39-year-old Karma Hassell was sentenced to only nine months in jail and five years of probation for the death of 41-year-old Joel Ervin.
The crash happened on September 3rd 2016 when Ervin was walking on East Ransom Street in downtown Kalamazoo just before 1 a.m. and Hassell’s hit and killed him.
Hassell pleaded no contest back in January to operating while intoxicated causing death.
Friends and family members said Ervin would never want this for anyone and that’s why they asked for a lesser charge.
