WOBURN — A 37-year-old Lowell man admitted he was driving drunk on Central Street in Acton two years ago when he crashed his Saturn sedan into a wall and a utility pole, claiming the life of his wife who was in the passenger seat.
Deeiyvid Hoepers pleaded guilty Tuesday in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn to manslaughter while operating under the influence, motor vehicle homicide while operating under the influence, and second-offense operating under the influence of liquor.
Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Fahey sentenced Hoepers to five to six years in prison, followed by three years of probation, according to court records.
Hoepers was driving a 2008 Saturn sedan on May 17, 2016, when the car struck a wall and a utility pole, and then came to rest in the front yard of a home at 394 Central St.
Hoepers’ wife, Shannon Milhomme-Hoepers, 39, of Acton, was rushed to Emerson Hospital in Concord, where she was pronounced dead.
Hoepers was flown by medical helicopter to a Boston trauma center with serious injuries. Several days later, once he was out of the hospital, Hoepers was arrested in Lowell and charged in connection with the crash.
Prosecutors said Hoepers initially denied drinking on the night of the crash, then admitted to having one drink.
But surveillance footage from a Littleton bar, captured just minutes before the crash, showed Hoepers drinking two beers and a shot of whiskey, according to prosecutors. A server at the bar told police Hoepers had drank even more than that before speeding away with his wife in the car.
Another driver who spoke to police said she saw the Saturn speeding and swerving moments before the crash.
The couple had two children together, and following Milhomme-Hoepers’ death a GoFundMe page was setup to raise money for the children’s education.
Tragically, Milhomme-Hoepers mother, Catherine Milhomme, was also pronounced dead at Emerson Hospital just under a year after her daughter died, when a vehicle she was driving crashed into a tree on the same street where her daughter was killed.
The April 23, 2017, crash that claimed Milhomme’s life occurred at 70 Central St., in Acton — about two miles away from the scene where daughter died.
Fahey ordered that while Hoepers serves his probation, he must remain drug and alcohol free and submit to random testing; get a substance-abuse evaluation and treatment and complete a 14-day residential driver alcohol education program, according to court records.
Fahey also ordered that Hoepers cannot even apply for a driver’s license for at least 15 years, according to court records.
Follow Robert Mills on Twitter @Robert_Mills
![North Middlesex Regional High School recently held a school fair with real-world flair, a combined effort by students, faculty and administrators. School Superintendent Brad Morgan said that collaboration created the inaugural Credit for Life financial literacy fair for seniors. The April 10 event gave students an opportunity to learn about a subject not covered in […]](https://www.lowellsun.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/SEN-L-NorthMiddlesex-0418-02-1.jpg?w=263 "North Middlesex Regional High School recently held a school fair with real-world flair, a combined effort by students, faculty and administrators. School Superintendent Brad Morgan said that collaboration created the inaugural Credit for Life financial literacy fair for seniors. The April 10 event gave students an opportunity to learn about a subject not covered in […]")
