2-7-14 hilbert man sentenced in fatal car vs. motorcycle crash

A  Hilbert man convicted  in a fatal crash on Highway 151 north of Fond du Lac that killed two motorcyclists is going to prison.  At a sentencing hearing that lasted six hours Thursday Fond du Lac judge Gary Sharpe sentenced Clinton Lovelace  to eight years in prison followed by 15 years extended supervision and placed Lovelace on probation for seven years.  Last fall Lovelace pleaded no contest to two counts of homicide by negligient operation of a motor vehicle and entered an Alford plea to three counts of  second degree reckless Injury.    Nearly two years ago Lovelace crossed  the center line of Highway 151 north of  Fond du Lac, killing two motorcyclists and injuring eight others.  Kieth Lefebvre  is with the motorcycle rights and safety group ABATE Wisconsin. "Bikers are bikers, we stick together and I sat in the courtroom with tears in my eyes,"  Lefebvre told WFDL news.  "Everyone from the victim of the accident to the family of the guy that created the accident...its tragic, absolutely tragic."   Prosecuting attorney Dennis Krueger had recommended 20 years in prison.  "We had a very clear understanding of the case, we presented the facts as we believed them to be, we made a recommendation in support of those facts."    Eric Van Dam was severely injured in the crash.  Van Dam says he remembers everything up to  the crash…but nothing after that.  "We left the gas station, heading down the road and boom."  Van Dam says he understands the judge’s reasoning but was hoping for at least 12 years in prison.