A car accident that killed a Fishersville woman while she mowed her lawn, has led to a four-year prison term. An Augusta County judge ordered that sentence for Stephen Joel Vance Thursday.
Vance, 22, already pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. He was driving on Route 250 in October 2010, when he ran off the road and struck Lucille Wheeler in her front yard. Vance admitted he had been smoking synthetic marijuana at the time.
"This was a voluntary consumption on his part , of K2 substance. He was running off the road two hours before," said Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Rupen Shah.
Vance has a long history of mental illness, and the defense asked the judge to consider probation or home monitoring. The judge allowed Vance to start his four-year sentence on Monday.
