21-Year-Old Man Sentenced to Prison for DUI Death
By Marianne Madden
Published on January 09, 2007
Halse admitted smoking marijuana and drinking before he ran over and killed a jogger, 46-year-old Adam Lawas, on August 8.
Lawas was an engineer, tri-athlete, and a married father of three boys, ages 10, 6, and 2.
Halse was driving along Route 9 when he veered to the shoulder and struck Lawas, who was pinned against the guard rail before his body was thrown over the bridge and into the creek below. Lawas, who was in town on business, was killed instantly, and the force of the impact knocked him out of his running shoes. Because he was not carrying any identification on him, it took investigators three days to identify his body.
Halse had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.09 percent — just over the legal limit of 0.08. He claimed he sneezed at the time of the accident and did not see Lawas, but was convicted of vehicular manslaughter and negligent homicide. Halse’s previous brushes with the law reveal a history of recklessness and drug abuse.
About 55 relatives and friends of the victim came to the sentencing hearing, and many of them cried softly as the judge sentenced Halse to prison.
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