Anthony Klecker was sentenced in Dakota County today to 15 months in jail for drunk driving and causing a crash that killed 16-year-old Deanna Marie Casey.
Anthony Klecker was sentenced in Dakota County today to 15 months in jail for drunk driving and causing a crash that killed 16-year-old Deanna Marie Casey.
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A 29-year-old former U.S. Marine was sentenced in Dakota County today to 15 months in jail for drunk driving and causing a car crash that killed a teenage girl last October.

Anthony Joseph Klecker was driving on Interstate 494 in Inver Grove Heights on Oct. 28 when he hit a concrete barrier, jackknifing the slab into the path of an oncoming car.

Deanna Marie Casey, a 16-year-old cheerleader at Simley High School, was severely injured by the barricade and killed in a chain-reaction crash with a passing semitrailer.

At the time of the crash, Klecker’s blood-alcohol level was 0.29 percent, more than three times the legal driving limit.

Klecker will receive credit for the eight months he has already served. Klecker will also be placed on probation for 10 years and was ordered to make a symbolic donation to a charity of the Casey family’s choice every month for 10 years on the 28th day – the day Casey died.

He was also ordered to spend 10 days on electronic home monitoring each year for 10 years, beginning on the anniversary of Casey’s death.

Klecker must also attend Alcoholics Anonymous and complete 4½ months of in-patient treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol addiction related to his service in Iraq. He must also speak to student groups about alcohol abuse.

Prosecutors had asked for a four-year prison term but Casey’s family members said they were satisfied overall with the longer terms of probation and treatment.

Klecker’s attorney, Brock Hunter, said the Iraq war veteran was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder by a court-appointed physician and another doctor. Klecker had sought help for anxiety and alcoholism from Veterans Affairs prior to the crash, Hunter said.

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