SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A man who crashed into a Mansfield police vehicle, killing a firefighter and seriously injuring an officer has been sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Kody Skaggs was charged with one count of DWI resulting in the death of another and one count of DWI resulting in physical injury to emergency personnel.
Skaggs was sentenced to 14 years on the fatal DWI charge and 10 years on the physical injury to emergency personnel charge. The sentences will run concurrently.
Skaggs addressed the court and said he was “truly sorry” and did not intend to hurt anyone.
The judge, before making his decision, said “We do not punish intentions, we punish behavior.”
“Driving while intoxicated is not acceptable. We will not tolerate it. And I think the judge did a great job at representing how the court stands on that today,” said Mansfield Police Chief Timothy Stuart.
According to court documents, around 12:52 a.m. on April 1, a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper was called out to Business 60 south of U.S. Highway 60 to respond to a report of a crash. A crash investigation showed that the police vehicle was parked on the east shoulder of Business 60.