Kehler sentenced to 8-16 years for fatal DUI crash
Families speak of pain and grief
Friday, January 05, 2007
By RUSS FLANAGAN
The Express-Times
EASTON | Kyle M. Kehler was sentenced Thursday to spend the prime of his life behind bars for causing the
deaths of two Easton Area High School juniors in a drunken-driving crash last March.
Before an overflowing courtroom of nearly 100 grieving family members and friends, Northampton County
Judge F.P. Kimberly McFadden sentenced Kehler, who turns 19 today, to eight to 16 years in state prison.
She also fined him $6,000 and ordered he perform 3,000 hours of community service.
McFadden said the March 5, 2006, crash that killed Michael Cummings, 18, and Amanda Schultz, 16, left
"futures lost, lives shattered" and "families struggling on both sides of this horrific tragedy."
She told those who could squeeze into the courtroom that Cummings and Schultz would not be the last
teens killed on county roads unless parents and peers stop tolerating underage drinking as a right of
passage.
"No one said this parenting job was going to be easy, and we all as a community need to step up and do the
right thing in our own adult lives and for our children to prevent this tragedy from reoccurring," McFadden
said.
Families talk about lives forever changed
Thursday's sentence brought closure to the criminal side of the case for the families of Cummings and
Schultz. Last month, 62-year-old Diane C. Curran was sentenced to six to 12 months in county prison for
supplying alcohol for a party where Kehler drank.
"We feel that we need to move past the legal aspects of this case to continue our healing," said Mark
Schultz, Amanda's father. "Nothing will ever ease the pain of our loss, but we need some closure at this
time."
Cummings' parents also testified at Thursday's hearing, saying Michael's death has left a void in their lives
that can never be filled.
"I don't play much any more. I come home from work, hop into bed and go numb," said Robert Cummings,
who stopped working out and gained 20 pounds after his son's death. He said he also is too overcome by
grief to spend time with his 14-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter.
"So now, instead of saying, 'My dad always had time for us," my kids will probably say, 'He was never the
same after the accident.' This is not the legacy I hoped to leave for them. This tragedy has shredded the
entire being of my family fabric," said Cummings, of Bethlehem, who trembled slightly as he delivered his
statement.
Michael Cummings was slated to be the starting quarterback for Easton's football team this past season and
looked forward to playing in the 100th anniversary game against Phillipsburg on Thanksgiving. Schultz, of
Palmer Township, also was an athlete and played on the school's soccer team.
The two teens died when Kehler, a high school dropout with a juvenile record, smashed his 1996
Volkswagen Golf GTI into a tree at 6:26 a.m. in the 3500 block of Southwood Drive, Palmer Township, while
drunk.
Mark Schultz told McFadden his family was saddened that Amanda was not around for the holidays, her
birthday and other family gatherings. He became emotional when he told the judge that Kehler's actions
deprived him of the joy of seeing his daughter go to college, fall in love and get married.
"Instead, we had to bury her, not the natural order of things, shop for a cemetery plot, pick out her burial
clothes, identify her body in the hospital, pick out a memorial headstone, deal with a tragic, horrific loss, find
counseling for family members and deal with a lifetime of grieving and healing," Schultz said.
Unlike her husband's weight gain, Vicki Cummings has lost 30 pounds since her son's death and cannot
function without medication, she said. Cummings, of Forks Township, said she thought losing her 18-yearold brother in a car crash and a 5-year-old daughter to cancer toughened her. But she said losing her son
only added to her pain.
She acknowledged her son "made some poor choices that night," but also blamed Kehler and other teens
who did not stop Kehler from driving.
Kehler's past, present and future
Since he has been in prison, Kehler has made strides to better his life, defense attorney Gary Asteak said.
Kehler is studying for a high school equivalency diploma and has publicly stated he wants to use the deaths
of Cummings and Schultz to warn teens about the dangers of drinking and driving. He wrote a letter to the
high school last month in which he said, "I hope that the lives lost were not in vain and will always be
remembered. I ask you to embrace one another in an effort to never let this tragedy happen to another friend
and another family."
But even as he makes strides, Kehler continues to be a discipline problem, said Assistant District Attorney
William Blake. Blake said Kehler received misconducts recently for conspiring with his mother, Donna
Kehler, to smuggle tobacco products into the prison on Dec. 26 and 27.
Kehler was already on county supervision at the time of the crash for violating his probation by testing
positive for drugs and alcohol. He was placed on probation after a juvenile court found he committed a
burglary, Blake said.
On Thursday, Kehler blamed no one but himself for the deaths of Cummings and Schultz, describing his
actions as "reckless and irresponsible."
"I had no business being out that night and there is no one to blame but myself. I take full responsibility and
will live with the guilt of knowing what I have done and what I have put your families through," he said. "I will
forever feel for the loss I have caused to each of you, and am deeply sorry for the pain I have brought upon
your families."
He also said he hopes the families accept his apology and "future efforts and forgive me as a person."
Kehler reiterated his desire to reach out to teens to discuss how drinking and driving has damaged not only
his life, but also the families of the victims.
Several people testified on Kehler's behalf, calling him "polite" and "respectful." His former neighbor, Mia
Mengel, said she used to trust Kehler to babysit her son and pick him up from the bus stop in the afternoons.
"The Kyle I knew is kind, compassionate and a responsible young man," Mengel said. "My son adored Kyle
and looked up to him and was more than happy to spend a few hours a day with him."
Mengel said alcohol sent Kehler on a downward spiral but that "the Kyle I know has re-emerged."
Kehler also received support from Donna Klipphahn, the mother of one of his best friends, Ryan Klipphahn.
She asked the judge not to punish Kehler with a lengthy prison sentence.
"He is now at a fork in the road and you can control the turn that he takes," Klipphahn said. "I know where he
wants to go and I hope that our system will do what it can to guide him on the right path rather than beat him
down, break his spirit and send him on yet another collision course."
Kehler pleaded guilty Oct. 31 to two counts of homicide by vehicle while driving drunk and one count of
drunken driving.
Reporter Russ Flanagan can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at rflanagan@express-times.com.
© 2007 The Express Times