A state prison sentence against a man who struck an Amish buggy while driving under the influence will stand as a result of a Friday argument.

The sentence Skerda handed down previously against Gary L. O’Donnell, 69, Sugar Grove, resulted in 39 to 78 months incarceration in the state prison system.

The incident occurred near Dollar General in Sugar Grove in February 2021.

O’Donnell was driving home and struck the buggy. The result was that the buggy was “demolished,” the horse was killed and the driver had suffered broken vertebrae in his neck.

Two witnesses at the scene — who were driving in the opposite direction — reported to police they observed the buggy and “noticed the white van coming south at a high rate of speed.

“They stated as they got closer to the buggy they veered over to their right to give the southbound white van room to pass the buggy to its left. The witnesses stated the white van never slowed down or braked and just ran right into the back of it and continued on southbound without stopping.”

Due to the injuries sustained by the buggy driver, Skerda handed down one of the sentences in the aggravated range of the sentence guidelines, resulting in an additional three months behind bars.

Chief Public Defender Kord Kinney asked Friday for that to be changed to the standard range, which would shave those months off the total sentence.

District Attorney Rob Greene said he would be opposed, citing O’Donnell’s seven prior DUI offenses.

“(He) could have killed someone,” Greene said.

Skerda reiterated she was “concerned” about the severity of the injuries and denied the motion.

“I believe the sentence is appropriate,” she added.