A 45-year-old Tucson man was sentenced Friday to 19 years in prison for a high-speed, alcohol-related crash that killed his passenger and injured three people in two other vehicles.
Mike Allen Schomisch was convicted Jan. 30 on all eight counts he was charged with, including manslaughter in the death of Gregory Allgood, 45.
Schomisch was drunk and was driving 86 in a 40 mph zone on Nov. 18, 2007 when he rear-ended 20-year-old Joshua Danielson near East 22nd Street and South Swan Road, according to court documents.
The collision forced Danielson’s pickup to collide with an SUV driving in the opposite direction, resulting in injuries to driver Sandra Samaniego that are still lingering today, Deputy Pima County Attorney Michael Kelly said.
Schomisch’s blood-alcohol level, taken 90 minutes after the crash, was 0.172, more than twice the legal limit, court records show.
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“It’s kind of a miracle that no one else got killed,” Kelly said.
Allgood’s mother, Barbara, displayed a collage of photos and diplomas of her son as she pleaded with Pima County Superior Court Judge Deborah Bernini to give Schomisch as long a sentence as possible.
“I just don’t get it; this is what it took to get him off the road?” Barbara Allgood said.
Defense attorney Robert Louis Murray said Schomisch’s actions were evidence he’d hit rock bottom following a line of events that included a divorce as well as the death of his brother to lung cancer.
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