Iowa Supreme Court won’t take up Swenka case

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Iowa Supreme Court will not review the sentence of a North Liberty man who caused a 2011 car crash near Tiffin that killed a 14-year-old girl.

Zachary Swenka, 21, had asked the high court to review a decision by the Iowa Court of Appeals to uphold a two-year prison sentence handed down in October 2013 by Associate District Court Judge Stephen Gerard.

The Iowa Supreme Court declined last week. Swenka's was one of 27 the Iowa Supreme Court decided not to give further review.

Swenka was a Clear Creek-Amana High School student on Oct. 17, 2011, when he gave several other students a ride home from cross country practice. Driving at speeds up to 100 miles per hour, Swenka lost control, crossed the centerline and collided with an oncoming minivan, officers said.

Part of the left rear section of Swenka's car was torn off, ejecting and killing Mackenzie Lown. Swenka and the other passengers in his car were injured, as were two people in the minivan.

Swenka appealed his conviction and sentence, arguing Gerard improperly considered Swenka's prior driving activities referenced by the victim's parents during the sentencing hearing. Swenka also claimed his guilty plea was involuntary.

The Court of Appeals disagreed on both points.

Swenka spent about a month in the prison system before posting appeal bond Nov. 21, 2013. The Supreme Court will send the case back to Gerard, who will likely issue an order setting a date for Swenka to turn himself in to complete his prison sentence, Johnson County Attorney Janet Lyness said.