Courtesy: WBRZBATON ROUGE - A man convicted of killing seven people in a head-on collision in East Feliciana Parish received a decade in jail for each of their deaths.
A judge sentenced Brett Gerald to 70 years in prison and a fine of $14,000. Gerald must serve 35 years of his sentence before he can benefit from probation or parole.
Gerald pleaded guilty to the seven counts of vehicular homicide for which he was charged after his pickup truck collided with a car occupied by Baton Rouge residents returning home from Clinton church services.
Five people in the car driving on La. Highway 67 about a mile south of the Comite River died instantly in the May 30, 2012 collision: the driver, Brenda Gaines, 64; Denise Gaines, 33; Diamond Johnson, 12; Jyran Johnson, 6; and Angela Matthews Mosely, 36.
Two other passengers, Willie Gaines Jr., 15, and Rogerick Johnson Jr., 13, also of Baton Rouge, died several days later.
Police said Gerald told them he'd been drinking at a golf course for several hours earlier that day.
A state trooper who investigated the crash testified earlier that an analysis of a blood sample taken at a local hospital showed Gerald's blood-alcohol content was 0.15 percent. In Louisiana, a blood-alcohol content of 0.08 percent is considered legally drunk.
Gerald had three other DWI arrests before the crash and one conviction.
