Schaul gets 30 years for traffic death, injury near Central City

CEDAR RAPIDS - After a tearful court hearing Friday, a judge sentenced a Cedar Rapids man to 30 years in prison for causing the 2013 traffic death of Rachel Denny and the serious injury of her 21-month-old daughter Izabella, who remains paralyzed.

Izabella, now 3 years old, was brought to court with her father and other family members for the sentencing of Brandon Schaul, 27. Izabella is paralyzed from the neck down and cannot breathe without a ventilator, which doctors say is a permanent condition.

Breaking down and crying at times, Christopher Denny - Rachel's husband and father of Izabella - said in a victim's impact statement that he 'fell to his knees” after finding out his 26-year-old wife died in the crash and then hearing about his daughter's condition. His wife and daughter were on their way back home from an emergency room visit for Izabella's ear infection at about 1 a.m. on May 18, 2013, when Schaul's truck crashed into their van near the intersection of Highway 13 and Valley Farm Road near Central City.

Christopher Denny said after Izabella was taken to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, he found out she had severe spinal injuries and brain damage and that she would never be able to breathe without assistance. She would also have to undergo more than one surgery, including an eight-hour spinal fusion.

Izabella had to go through rehabilitation before coming home, and he had to learn how to care for his daughter, who requires nursing care 16 hours a day.

'The crime of vehicular homicide has created complete chaos in our family,” Denny said.

He said he no longer has the wife he fell in love with and she will never be able to see their daughter and son, Isaiah, grow up. Izabella will never be able to feel again, be independent or attend regular classes in school.

Following a four-day trial in January, a Linn County jury found Schaul guilty of homicide by vehicle and serious injury by vehicle.

Schaul, who teared up during the statement, said he was sorry for what happened. He said if he could 'trade places with them, I would.”

Sixth Judicial District Judge Lars Anderson sentenced Schaul to 25 years for the vehicular homicide charge and five years for the serious injury charge, and ran the sentences consecutively for 30 years in prison. He said there were two crimes and two victims.

Christopher Denney and Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden had asked for the consecutive sentence. Al Willett, Schaul's attorney, asked the judge to run the sentences concurrently, saying 30 years wouldn't make Schaul any more accountable than 25.

Anderson also ordered Schaul to pay $150,000 in restitution to Rachel Denny's estate and imposed a $750 fine for the injury charge. Schaul also must undergo a substance abuse evaluation and complete a drinking and driving program.

According to trial testimony, Schaul's vehicle crossed the centerline and crashed into Denny's van. Schaul didn't testify at trial, but he told deputies he drank eight to 10 beers that night.

Schaul refused to give a blood sample after the crash but a warrant was obtained hours later. Based on calculations, his blood alcohol level at the time of the crash would have been 072 - lower than the legal limit in Iowa of .08.