OSHKOSH - The man convicted of causing a boat crash that killed two Neenah sisters was sentenced Wednesday to threeyears in prison.
Brian Sullivan, 46, of Neenah, was charged withhomicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle in connection with a boat crash that took place on Lake Winnebago shortly after 8:30 p.m. Aug. 18, 2018. The crash led to the deaths of two sisters, Lauren Laabs, 26, and Cassie Laabs, 20, both of Neenah.Sullivan was found guilty by a Winnebago County juryafter a four-day trial in mid-September.
Cheryl Laabs, Lauren and Cassie's mother, began herstatement in court by describing herdaughters, saying she was proud and blessed to be their mother.
Lauren hada radiant smile and an infectious laugh, she said, and was always able to see the best in people.
Cassie was genuine,a free spirit who always enjoyed making other people laugh and "sunshine in human form," she said.
“You are forever loved and never forgotten,” she said.
Laabs said she has forgivenSullivan, but urged him to commit to "kindness and unconditional love."
“I pray for healing for you, especially for your children,” she said.
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On the night of the crash, Sullivan was driving a boat north on Lake Winnebago when he collided with a boat driven by Kim Laabs, Lauren and Cassie's father. Lauren and Cassie were thrown from the boat and died as a result of the crash. A few weeks after the crash, hundreds of people gathered at Waverly Beach in Menasha to celebrate the sisters' lives and show support for the family.
When he took the witness stand, Sullivan exhaled and looked down at a piece of paper in his hands, then spoke directly to the Laabs family.
"I'm not going to tell you how this has impacted me or changed me," he said. "It's not about me. It's about you and your loss, the loss of your two beautiful daughters."
He talked about how he repeatsthe crash in his mind again and again, wondering what he could have done differently,but also said he accepts responsibility for his role in what happened.
“As a father, I think about your family every morning, afternoon,evening, when I go to bed, wondering how you're doing and wishing there was something I could do to help,” he said.
Sullivan, though, asked not to be sent to prison and to insteadbe allowed to give back to the community somehow, whileavoiding any additional suffering on the part of his own family.
In addition to the prison time, Winnebago County Judge Scott Woldt ordered Sullivan to serve threeyears of extended supervision. He will not be allowed to drink alcohol while on extended supervision and wasordered to serve 50 hours of community service in each year of extended supervision.Sullivan's driver's license wassuspended for five years.
A blood test taken about three hours after the crash found Sullivan had a blood alcohol content of 0.093 percent. Experts for both sides testified at Sullivan'strial in September about whether hewould have been above the legal limit of 0.08 percent at the time of the crash.
Winnebago County Assistant District Attorney Adam Levin kept his statementbrief, but took a moment to argue that Sullivan still doesn't seem to appreciate the risks he took that day or acknowledge his responsibility for the crash.
Levin recommended Sullivan be sentenced to a total of two years of initial confinement, followed by 20 years of extended supervision, but also said that any sentence given by the court wouldn't resolve the pain caused by the crash.
“People aren’t going to be walking out of here happy no matter what this court does,” he said.
Dall'Osto, who describedSullivan as"extremely remorseful," asked Woldt to come up with a sentence that combined both justice and mercy.
“There has been a brand put on his forehead and that brand hurts every day,” he said.
Woldt began by reading excerpts from letters sent to him ahead of the hearing. Sullivan will succeed, he said, no matter what the sentence because of the support he has in life.
“You will succeed in life because of the support you have shown others and others have shown you,” he said.
But when he talked about the seriousness of the crime, Woldt simply statedthe consequences of what took place.
“Two young women died. Two people were seriously injured. Their family dog died," he said. "I don’t know if I can say more than that.”
To impose a sentence that didn't include time in prison would depreciate the seriousness of the offense, Woldt said.
“Our society needs to know that there are consequences to decisions to drink and drive,” he said.
Contact Chris Mueller at920-996-7267 or cmueller@gannett.com. Follow himon Twitter at@AtChrisMueller.
