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John Daley ReportingA 23-year-old man is headed to jail after a series of DUI arrests. David Willey served no time in jail after hitting a woman on her bike, but a judge says subsequent charges show he has yet to learn his lesson.
Colleen Nordberg and her husband have been trying to ensure that drivers who injure others while on drugs face some kind of penalty. They helped get a tougher new state law passed, and today urged a judge to send a strong message to the man who hit her.
For 23-year-old David Willey, today is the day actions have consequences, as he faces sentencing after four DUI arrests involving marijuana or alcohol. In the first case he hit a woman on a bike and was found to have marijuana in his system.
That woman, Colleen Nordberg, suffered broken bones, internal injuries and worst of all had a traumatic brain injury.
Colleen Nordberg, Accident Victim: "We've really had to alter my life because of the physical implications and the mental things that have gone on."
In court Willey said, "I'm truly sorry for your pain. I ask for your forgiveness." He then read the final sentence of a prepared statement, saying: "This tragic accident saved me from a life of addiction."
To that, Judge Leslie Lewis snapped back, citing the later charges, "This accident did not change you." Lewis called Willey's on-going DUI record "unconscionable" and gave Willey a year in jail with numerous other conditions, saying "You make another mistake, I'll send you to prison so fast, it'll make your head spin."
Reporter: "Do you think that sentence will help him learn his lesson? The judge seemed to feel at this point he hasn't learned that lesson."
Walter Bugden, Attorney for David Willey: "Well, I'm sure it'll help him learn the lesson. A year in jail gives him a long time to help him appreciate what he did was terrible."
The Nordbergs say their hope is in rehabilitation and common sense for substance abusers.
Brian Nordberg, Colleen's Husband: "That's one issue with DUI offenders, is repetition. I don't know what it takes to get DUI offenders off the road."
Colleen Nordberg, Accident Victim: "Get off the roads. Just get someone else to drive you home. Get a taxi, get something else. There's too many people that you can injure and lives that you can affect."
Besides Willey's one year jail sentence, Judge Lewis ordered him to attend AA meetings and enter a serious rehab program at the Odyssey House, at this own expense, after he's released.
