Colonial Williamsburg Employee To Begin 12 Month Sentence For DUI Crash On Christmas Eve

Last year, 72-year-old Chadd’s Ford, Pennsylvania resident Irene Carson spent Christmas Day at the Medical College of Virginia suffering from the injuries she received when a man who was driving under the influence struck her in Colonial Williamsburg the previous night.

This Christmas, the man who put Carson in the hospital with multiple skull fractures, Mark Schneider, will spend the day in jail, along with many more after that.

On November 24, Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court Judge Samuel Powell sentenced Schneider, a Colonial Williamsburg employee, to 12 months in prison, to be served on weekends, on a misdemeanor DUI charge. He will also be required to pay a $500 fine, court costs, and $17,387 in restitution and medical expenses.

Powell deferred a felony maiming by DUI charge until December 2010, when he could dismiss, downgrade, or sentence Schneider on that charge.

Before handing down the sentence, Powell reminded Schneider that his actions had forever changed Carson’s life. According to Powell, Carson is likely to never fully recover from the injuries she suffered.

Carson was crossing Francis Street in the historic area on December 24 when she was struck by a speeding vehicle driven by Schneider. His blood-alcohol content was 0.19, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08.

That is why Powell selected Christmas Eve as the date for Schneider to first report to the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail to begin his sentence.