Driver in deadly Sonoma crash gets two-year jail sentence

The driver convicted of causing a 2015 car crash that killed two people on Highway 121 has been sentenced to two years in county jail.

Christopher Shuman of Napa, 32, had been convicted of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter for causing the deaths of Richard and Fay Steinhart.

The collision occurred on Highway 121, south of the City of Sonoma. Evidence showed that at the time of the crash Shuman was driving above the posted speed limit, and that methamphetamine was present in his blood stream. He was driving with a suspended license — which had been suspended for two prior DUI offenses.

 Several surviving family members of the two victims were in attendance and addressed the court. Brian Dabel, son of Richard and Fay Steinhart, told the judge, “The worst part of this tragedy is that the driver that caused the accident, Mr. Shuman, should not have been on the road. He should never have been there. By driving on a suspended license, which was obviously suspended for a reason, Mr. Shuman took to the road and subsequently killed two of the greatest people you could ever know.”

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Robert L Blade of the District Attorney’s Vertical DUI Unit.  Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Assisting the prosecution were DA Investigators Robyn Katz and Greg Wojcik, and victim advocate Elizabeth Garcia. The California Highway Patrol headed the investigation.