TERRE HAUTE —
A Terre Haute man has been sentenced to in-home detention and probation for admitting guilt in the 2011 drunken driving death of his wife.
Wayne Compton, 46, received a 10-year sentence in Vigo Superior Court 5 through a plea agreement accepted by Judge Michael Rader. He had been charged with driving with a blood-alcohol content of 0.15 percent or more causing death, a class-B felony.
The accident occurred in the early morning hours of Jan. 16 on North 16th Street near Carl Avenue.
Terre Haute Police reported that Compton was driving a 2008 Chevrolet Impala when it drove through a dead-end at a creek and slammed into the creek bank. Witnesses reportedly told police that the car was traveling at a high rate of speed when it crashed.
Compton was airlifted from the scene to an Indianapolis hospital. His BAC tested at 0.16 percent. His wife was pronounced dead at the scene.
Criminal charges were filed against Compton in February 2011 when he was released from the hospital, and Judge Rader ordered him placed on pre-trial home detention because of his injuries.
The plea agreement calls for Compton to serve four years of the sentence as a direct commitment to the home detention program of Vigo County Community Corrections. He was given credit for 532 days already served on home detention as of the Tuesday sentencing. Six years of the sentence will be suspended to two years served on formal probation, followed by four years on informal probation.
Compton must also perform 400 hours of community service, and must continue to attend mental health counseling, attend at least one alcohol or substance abuse recovery meeting each week, submit to drug or alcohol screens at his own expense, and remain gainfully employed. Compton’s driving privileges also will be suspended for five years, and once he receives probationary driving privileges, he must install and maintain an ignition interlock device on his vehicle for six months. His probationary driving period is for the last three years of his driving suspension, and he will be permitted to drive only for work, community service, medical and counseling appointments, Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, Sunday church services and to visit his wife’s grave.
Judge Rader said at Tuesday’s hearing that he spent a lot of time thinking about whether or not to accept the plea. He rejected the plea agreement at first.
“In this case, he killed his wife, and the children of this woman, who are not his biological children, but the children were present here in this courtroom and testified that they do not wish to see Mr. Compton go to prison,” Rader said, according to a transcript of the court proceedings. The judge later added that Compton has managed to work through his injuries and his wife’s death with her family, and that they are willing to forgive him.
Rader addressed Compton: “I am going to go ahead and accept this, and a large part of this, Mr. Compton, is because of the children of the woman you killed, have been willing to come in here and persuade me that you should not go to prison.”
Defense attorney Jessie Cook told the Tribune-Star that Compton and his late wife’s adult children have worked hard for reconciliation.
“Her children have been reasonable, compassionate and mature in their loss, and in trying to do what they think she would want,” Cook said.
She also noted that Compton has never denied his responsibility for his wife’s death.
“No one could be more remorseful than Mr. Compton has been,” she said.
Reporter Lisa Trigg can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or lisa.trigg@tribstar.com. Follow her on Twitter @TribStarLisa.
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