Judge sentences Benjamin Brewer for 2015 I-75 crash

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – On Monday, Benjamin Brewer to 55 years in prison for causing a wreck on I-75, near the Ooltewah exit, in 2015.

Six people were killed in that crash.

Prosecutors said Brewer was high and did not have enough sleep when his semi truck slammed into multiple vehicles on that night.

At his hearing, Brewer addressed the court for the first time.

“I am truly sorry from the bottom of my heart. It really breaks my heart,” Brewer said.

He apologized to family members of the victims.

“So I started thinking what I could do, so I started praying several times a day that God would ease their pain. I would also like these families to know that I would have given my life that day for those people who were lost, especially for the two kids,” Brewer said.

His aunt also testified on his behalf, saying he was a quiet and kind person.

“I’m proud to say Ben Brewer is my nephew. Ben was raised in a good home. He was raised in church,” Etta Brewer said.

The father of Kelsie and Savannah Garrigues, who were the two children killed in the crash, was unable to be in court. He submitted a statement, that District Attorney Neal Pinkston read, about how this impacted him.

“Never again to share a moment, a ride to school, ballet performance, hearing my daughter’s voice, a kiss, a father to daughter embrace.”

The father wrote he wanted Brewer to get the maximum sentence possible.

“My daughters and my family have been robbed of the lives they could have lived and all the joy and love they brought to our lives. They deserve justice and my family deserves the peace of mind that he will never be able to hurt another family again.”

Brewer got eleven years for each of the homicide convictions and four for the reckless aggravated assault convictions.

He will serve some of the sentence concurrently, instead of all consecutively.

Prosecutors initially asked for 12 years on the homicide convictions.

Pinkston says he was satisfied with the sentence.