Monster-Truck Driver Sentenced In Fatality

A Spokane man who killed a man in a car accident was sentenced to the maximum penalty for vehicular manslaughter Friday.

Shane R. McDonald, 24, was sentenced to 10 years in prison but will be eligible for parole after five years, Judge Craig Kosonen ordered.

McDonald pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter in the death of Paul Browne.

The stiff penalty pleased Browne’s family and friends.

“Anything less than the maximum would have been less than justice,” Dorene Carney said after the hearing. She was six months pregnant with Browne’s daughter when the accident happened.

“(Paul) was intelligent, humorous and the most caring person anyone has ever known,” said Chris Browne, Paul’s brother.

Paul Browne died March 29 while driving north on U.S. Highway 95. McDonald was driving south in a jacked-up pickup truck, crossed the center line and drove over the top of Browne’s car.

Four hours after the accident, McDonald’s blood-alcohol level was measured just short of the level to be considered drunken driving.

Chris Browne said he thought the sentence was especially appropriate considering McDonald’s criminal record.

McDonald has been twice before charged with drunken driving in Spokane, although both charges were eventually reduced to reckless or negligent driving.

Chris Browne wants limitations on how high trucks can be raised. Idaho State Patrol officers believe Paul Browne would have lived if he hadn’t been hit by a jacked-up pickup.

“It turns a fender bender into a fatal or serious accident,” Browne said.

, DataTimes MEMO: IDAHO HEADLINE: Spokane man gets 10 years for vehicular manslaughter