Polo millionaire sentenced to 16 years in prison for killing promising student in

drunken hit-and-run
The polo-playing millionaire who killed a young man in a DUI hit-and-run has been sentenced to 16 years in prison.
John Goodman was also fined $10,000 for his role in the death of 23-year-old Scott Wilson, who drowned when
Goodman, 48, rammed into his car and sent it into a canal in February 2010.
Judge Jeffrey Colbath condemned Goodman's actions, saying: 'He left to try and save himself.'
Last month he reached a settlement with the Wilson family and will pay out $46million in compensation to them.
Victim: Student Scott Wilson was only 23 years old when he was killed in the car crash

Goodman faced up to 30 years in prison after being found guilty of DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide.
Prosecutors sought a sentence of 20 years, and on Friday Mr Colbath ruled that the culprit should be imprisoned for
16 years during a hearing in West Palm Beach, Florida.
According to the Sun-Sentinel, the judge said: 'These are horrible, horrible cases from a criminal justice standpoint.
Scott Wilson's death was senseless. He was on the eve of fullness of life.'
He added that the tragic case should serve as a warning to others as he said: 'Find a cab, find a friend. Don't drink
and drive.
'This was a senseless, senseless accident because Mr Goodman chose to drive when he was too drunk.'
According to Mr Colbath, the severity of the sentence reflected the fact that Goodman knew what he was doing when
the fled the scene of the accident without calling 911.
'To avoid the liability, the criminal responsibility, that he knew was going to visit him from the time of the crash, he
wilfully left the scene of the crash,' the judge said.
'It was because he wanted to figure out a way to save himself.'
Justice: Lili Wilson leaving the courtroom after the guilty verdict was read out in March

Mr Wilson's mother Lili addressed the court, giving emotional testimony about her son.
'Sunday is going to be Mother's Day and Scott will not be coming home,' she said.
'By dying at such a young age, he will never get the opportunity to work as a professional after graduating from
engineering school.
'He will never have the opportunity to marry and have a family of his own.'
Goodman also took the stand, saying: 'I just wanted to say that from the day after the accident, all I've wanted to do is
reach out to the Wilsons and be with them and cry with them.
'And I can't imagine or even pretend to imagine what it would be like to lose a son.'
Impact: The crumpled car driven by Wilson, left, and the Bentley driven by Goodman, right. Goodman said he drank from a bottle of liquor he
found after the crash - the reason he was over the limit
Deadly: Wilson family members look at the Bentley Goodman was driving when he ran a stop sign in 2010

Earlier the judge dismissed a final plea from the defence to overturn the sentence on the basis of an admission by
one of the jurors that he had deliberately got drunk to test the effects of drinking as much as Goodman had on the
night of the crash.
Mr Colbath agreed that the juror's actions did constitute misconduct, but ruled that they had not influenced the other
jurors or affected the eventual verdict.
The case sprang to national fame after Goodman, the founder of the International Polo Club Palm Beach in Florida,
adopted his 42-year-old girlfriend Heather Hutchins last October, entitling her to up to a third of his biological
children's trust fund, worth $300million.
At the time the Wilsons' lawyers slammed the move as an attempt by Goodman to shield his assets.
Grieving: Lili Wilson, the victim's mother, wept when Goodman's 911 call was played in court
Bill: The court was shown Goodman's receipt for drinks, bought for himself and others before the crash

Prosecutors successfully claimed that Goodman was drunk when he rammed his black Bentley convertible into Mr
Wilson's car two years ago, causing it to roll into a canal.
The millionaire disputed the claims and argued in court that the crash was the result of a malfunction with his brakes.
Goodman left the scene and waited an hour to call 911 while Scott drowned. He gave a dead cell phone battery as
the reason why he walked away from the crash scene.
After the crash, Goodman's blood alcohol level was measured at .177 per cent, more than twice the legal driving limit.
At trial Goodman said he was sure of one thing: he had two shots of tequila and two shots of vodka before the crash,
yet he was not drunk and that he drunk after the crash to alleviate his pain.
Newest family member: Goodman, right, adopted his 42-year-old girlfriend Heather Hutchins last fall. The move means she is entitled to up
to a third of his biological children's $300 million trust fund
Lap of luxury: The International Polo Club, which Goodman founded, attracts A-list celebrities

Home sweet home: Goodman sold his mansion in Wellington, Florida to his children's trust for $3.8million and now pays $2,000 in rent each
month

After leaving a bar, he said his car suddenly lurched forward into an intersection 'and I began to apply my brakes, and
the car did not seem to be stopping as easily as I was used to,' he said.
Unable to control the vehicle, it slammed into the side of Scott's - even though Goodman said he was not aware he
had hit another driver so left the scene.
If he had known someone had plunged into the canal, 'I would have done whatever I could have done to help', he
claimed.
Goodman then went to a nearby barn where he found a bottle of liquor, the Miami Herald reported.
'I ... drank it to alleviate, thinking it would help with my pain,' he said, claiming it was the reason his blood alcohol
content was more than double the legal driving level when his blood was taken three hours after the crash.
Mr Wilson was a University of Central Florida graduate and was working as a civil engineer at the time of the crash.
He had been driving home to Wellington to visit his family when Goodman ran a stop sign.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2143246/Polo-millionaire-John-Goodman-sentenced-16-years-prison-killing-ScottWilson.html#ixzz44Uwrzz2H
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