Fatal Hit & Run Driver Sentenced
DENVER (CBS4) – A father of three was killed in a hit and run accident and now his family knows the punishment for the driver who hit him.
Dana Schaeffer was on his motorcycle in Lakewood last summer when he was struck by Juan Carlos Hernandez-Lupercio, 47. He was in court for sentencing on Tuesday.
With tears, family members of 47-year-old Schaeffer told of his life and those left behind.
"Lots of talent for different things, from building cars to painting cars to building houses. It's a great loss," said Dana's brother Edward Schaeffer.
It was last August when the accident happened near Sheridan and Center. Schaeffer's motorcycle was struck by a vehicle backing out of a driveway. The driver then took off.
That driver, Hernandez-Lupercio, was arrested the next day.
"He is extremely devastated. I don't know how you can't be in a case like this," said public defender Miriam Stohs.
For what happened the judge sentenced the defendant to seven years in prison, but that's little consolation for the victim's family.
"Seven years politically is fine but what we need to do is get the message out," said Dana's brother Steven Schaeffer.
The message, he says, is that cars are as dangerous as guns and the epidemic of hit and runs has got to stop.
The prosecutor told the judge instead of stopping the defendant ran, valuing his life over the person who lay dying.
