LEAVENWORTH, Kan. -- A Leavenworth County judge on Friday sentenced an Easton, Kansas man who was intoxicated when he crashed a UTV vehicle, killing his wife.
Gregory Zule, 59, was sentenced to two years and eight months in the Kansas Department of Corrections for involuntary manslaughter and six months in the Leavenworth County jail for DUI.
The judge suspended both sentences and ordered Zule to serve three years of probation.
According to the Leavenworth County Attorney's Office, before sentencing, dozens of letters displaying support for Zule were received by the court, and several members of Zule’s family addressed the court, asking that Zule be granted probation.
Zule previously pled guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter and one count of driving under the influence.
Zule was under the influence of alcohol on July 15, according to court documents, when he crashed a UTV vehicle he was driving in rural Leavenworth County.
Court documents say following the crash, Zule told Leavenworth deputies he swerved to miss a deer, causing the vehicle to roll. His wife died in the crash.
