Man sentenced for crash that killed 3 returning from Indy band contest
BLOOMFIELD, Ind. (AP) – A judge has sentenced a southwestern Indiana man to 15 years for causing a crash that killed three family members returning from a band competition in Indianapolis.
Greene Superior Court Judge Dena Martin sentenced 20-year-old Mason Hartke of Jasper on Wednesday to five years on each of three counts of operating a vehicle causing death while intoxicated. She suspended 1½ years of each sentence.
The Nov. 13, 2016, crash along Interstate 69 in Greene County killed 17-year-old Sophie Rinehart, 46-year-old David Rinehart and 74-year-old Ruth Rinehart. The crash occurred after David Rinehart, of Newburgh, pulled off to a shoulder after hitting a deer.
Sophie Rinehart had performed with the Castle High School marching band the previous day in Indianapolis.
Hartke told state police he believed he had fallen asleep at the wheel.
