Teen sentenced to 25 years in Cedar Rapids fatal crash, Marion shooting incident

CEDAR RAPIDS — A judge Tuesday told a 19-year-old that he had “earned this prison sentence” of 25 years for driving intoxicated, crashing into a sport utility vehicle and unintentionally causing the death of 77-year-old Cedar Rapids woman and seriously injuring a Marion woman last year.

Sixth Judicial District Judge Jason Besler told Zawadi Christophe that he considered imposing consecutive sentences, which would have been for 50 years, because of the harm and pain he caused the family of Judy Hoover, who was a passenger and died in the crash, and to the driver, Joanne Swenka, 73, of Marion, who still has medical issues from the Oct. 24, 2022, incident.

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However, Besler decided to go along with a plea agreement and sentenced Christophe to 25 years. He ran the sentences for homicide by vehicle — operating while intoxicated; serious injury by vehicle — OWI; and serious injury — reckless driving — concurrently with the 25 years Christophe faced in a separate shooting case.

In that case, the teen previously made Alford pleas to intimidation with a dangerous weapon with intent, conspiracy to commit a forcible felony and going armed with intent in a July 24, 2022, incident. An Alford plea is when a defendant maintains innocence but admits the prosecution has sufficient evidence to prove guilt.

Assistant Linn County Attorney Rena Schulte, during sentencing, said the reason for the plea agreement and concurrent sentences is because Christophe was 18 at the time. But she also pointed out that the teen’s “senseless actions” took the life of Hoover and caused Swenka extensive serious injuries. Swenka was in the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics for seven weeks and still suffers from short term memory issues.

In the shooting incident, Schulte said, Christophe could easily have killed “multiple people” — and it’s a “miracle” nobody was.

Patrick McMullen, Christophe’s lawyer, asked the court to follow the plea agreement and noted he has seen Christophe mature while in jail this last year, which he said is “rare” in his experience. Christophe wants to come out of prison a “better man,” he said.

Christophe, during sentencing, told the families of Hoover and Swenka, who were in the courtroom, that he takes “full responsibility” for his actions and apologized. He said he had never hurt anyone before and wouldn’t have driven that day if he could do it all over.

The victims in court declined to give impact statements.

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Christophe also was ordered to pay $150,000 to Hoover’s heirs and $500 in restitution to Darrin Dohlman, the other driver who was hit by Swenka’s vehicle during the crash.

His driver’s license also will be revoked for six years.

In the crash, Christophe, driving a Dodge Journey in the 800 block of First Avenue W in Cedar Rapids, rear-ended a BMW SUV, driven by Swenka and with Hoover as a passenger. The crash caused the BMW to veer into oncoming traffic, where it was hit by a Dodge Ram pickup, driven by Dohlman, according to criminal complaint.

Hoover died. Swenka had several serious injuries, including a brain bleed, skull and facial fractures, several broken ribs, a collapsed lung, a spinal cord fracture and pelvis fracture. Last year, Swenka’s family told The Gazette she and Hoover were driving home from bingo that night at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Cedar Rapids.

Swenka underwent multiple surgeries and remained in the hospital for some time, her son, Scott Swenka, previously said. She also experienced some memory issues after coming home.

Christophe, who wasn’t injured, admitted to drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana, according to the complaint. A preliminary breath test showed he was in excess of the .08 legal driving limit. He also admitted to officers at the time he struck the BMW, and stated over three hours after the crash that he “doesn’t even feel drunk anymore.”

According to the complaint, the a module in his vehicle showed he was traveling at 65 mph five seconds before impact and accelerated to 73 mph about 1.8 seconds before impact — “demonstrating that his reckless driving was also a proximate cause of the death and serious injury to the alleged victims.”

About three weeks before this crash, Christophe had been charged with drunken driving and his driver’s license had been revoked, according to the complaint.

In the shooting case, Marion police investigators determined Christophe and one or more others conspired to “hunt down” another individual because that person was having a conflict with Christophe’s sister, Luwize Ndihokubwayo, according to a criminal complaint.

When they found the targeted victim at Lincoln Drive and 11th Avenue in Marion, one of them shot a firearm at the victim, which was in the vicinity of a school and residential neighborhood, with the intention to provoke fear, the complaint stated.

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