Bulechek pleads guilty to 2013 vehicular homicide
Jeffrey Bulechek pleaded guilty Monday to charges of homicide by vehicle, nearly three years after he ran a stop sign and caused a fatal car wreck that killed a 15-year-old girl and hospitalized two of her cousins.
Bulechek, 30, of Kalona admitted to driving while intoxicated when he was involved in a two-vehicle crash on Dec. 1, 2013, at the intersection of Highway 1 and 520th Street Southwest, north of Kalona. Bulechek's Ford F150 collided with a four-door Saturn occupied by three teenage cousins, killing Brittany Hochstetler, 15, of Grabill, Ind.; and hospitalizing Brooke Miller, then 16, of Fay, Okla.; and driver Teresa Miller, then 17, of Wellman.
Bulechek pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle-reckless driving, a class C felony, and serious injury by vehicle, a class D felony. His plea was accepted Monday by Sixth Judicial District Judge Sean McPartland in an appearance that lasted about half an hour. Bulechek's family and the families of the victims were in the courtroom.
At the Johnson County Courthouse on Monday, Bulechek and his lawyers acknowledged that Hochstetler died because Bulechek did not keep a proper lookout for other vehicles and did not see the other car when he ran the stop sign.
He also acknowledged his responsibility in the injury of Brooke Miller.
"I was operating a vehicle while impaired, and I caused a very serious injury," Bulechek said.
PREVIOUSLY:
Originally, he had been charged with homicide by vehicle-operating under the influence, a Class B felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison, but that count was dismissed as part of Monday's plea deal and replaced with the lesser charge of homicide by vehicle-reckless driving.
Bulechek was not charged until nearly a year after the crash and until Monday had pleaded not guilty to the charges for the past two years. His guilty plea means his trial, which was delayed multiple times, will not take place.
Bulechek is set to be sentenced in early January, with the date to be decided later. He faces sentences of 10 years and five years, which his plea states will be imposed concurrently.
He also faces a minimum one-year suspension of his driving privileges, as well as fines of up to $17,500. He is being held at the Johnson County Jail while he awaits sentencing.
Reach Stephen Gruber-Miller at 319-887-5407 or sgrubermil@press-citizen.com. Follow him on Twitter: @sgrubermiller.