Man sentenced for DUI crash that killed teenager

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A Wyandotte County judge sentenced a man on Friday to four years in prison for a car crash that killed 17-year-old Christopher Brown of Kansas City, Kan.

Eric Snitz, 41, of Basehor, pleaded no contest in August to involuntary manslaughter while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Snitz, who has two previous drunken driving convictions, slammed into the back of Brown’s car on Jan. 26, 2008, at 86th Street and State Avenue in Kansas City, Kan. Authorities said Snitz had a loaded weapon and ran from the crash scene. He was stopped by passers-by including an off-duty sheriff’s deputy. Snitz refused to take a blood-alcohol test.

Snitz’s defense attorney asked for a prison sentence of 42 months, but Wyandotte County Judge J. Dexter Burdette imposed the maximum sentence allowable by Kansas law for the charge. In doing so, Burdette cited the victim’s age and Snitz’s previous record.

Brown suffered massive head injuries and later died at an area hospital. The young man donated several organs because he had filled out the information on his driver’s license and made a point to discuss it with his family.

| Dawn Bormann, dbormann@kcstar.com

Posted on Fri, Nov. 06, 2009 01:15 PM

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