Prison for southern Minnesota driver whose drunken crash killed a motorcyclist

A southeastern Minnesota man was sentenced to more than three years in prison on Thursday in connection with a 2022 drunken driving crash that killed a motorcyclist.

Nicholas Sprau, 60, of Chatfield pleaded guilty in December to a felony charge of criminal vehicular homicide. In exchange for his plea, four counts related to vehicular homicide and drunken driving were dismissed.

Sprau was drunk and within feet of his driveway when he crashed his vehicle into an oncoming motorcycle the night of Sept. 10, 2022. Motorcyclist Ricky Hutton, 36, of nearby Stewartville, was pronounced dead at the scene.

At Sprau’s sentencing, Hutton’s sister-in-law and juvenile daughter described the pain of losing a family member. They asked the court not to grant Sprau leniency in his sentencing.

“He didn’t get to see me grow up,” Hutton’s daughter told the court.

She said she hopes her father is remembered for his humor and ability to light up a room whenever he walked in.

The defense had asked the court to consider a lighter sentence for Sprau, noting that he had no criminal history. His initial plea called for a 41-month sentence.

“There is nothing in his background or in the nature of the offense that makes be believe he will be back here again,” defense attorney Eric Newmark said.

The prosecution, however, urged the court not to deviate from the sentencing guidelines, noting there was nothing unique about the case that warranted a lighter sentence.

“Good people make bad choices all of the time,” Olmsted County Attorney Jeffrey Hill said. “He could have asked someone to drive him home, but he didn’t.”

Olmsted County District Judge Erin Felten ultimately sided with the state’s recommendation in sentencing Sprau to 41 months in prison, with credit for one day served.

Sprau will serve at least two-thirds of his sentence in prison, with the opportunity to serve the remainder on probation.

“I look to the driveway every day,” Sprau told the court. “This will haunt me forever.”

Sprau was heading north in his SUV on Hwy. 52 southeast of Rochester and started turning left toward his driveway when he crossed into the path of Hutton’s southbound motorcycle.

He told authorities that he and his wife were coming home from a party at a brewery in Fountain, Minn., where he drank six beers in six hours. However, he said he was not feeling the effects of his drinking.

Sprau failed multiple sobriety tests before being arrested for suspected DWI. A later analysis by the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension found his blood alcohol content was 0.173%, more than twice the legal limit.

Witnesses told investigators that Hutton was traveling at high rates of speed and passed several motorists before the crash

Sprau told a witness at the scene that he didn’t see the motorcyclist at first, but when he did see the headlight, he ”figured he’d have enough time to turn into his driveway.”

A reconstruction of the crash determined that Hutton was traveling below the speed limit at the moment of impact. The investigation concluded that the primary cause of the crash was Sprau failing to yield the right of way to the oncoming motorcyclist.

Paul Walsh of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this report.