WAUKESHA. WIS. — A Waukesha man was sentenced to seven years in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to killing a tow truck driver on Christmas Eve 2024.
Christopher Sponholz changed his plea to guilty in Waukesha County Court in exchange for the state's recommendation of a seven-year prison sentence. He struck and killed Hussain Farhat while Farhat was loading a disabled vehicle onto his tow truck on I-94 near Sawyer Road.
"I want to apologize and let you know how truly sorry I am," Sponholz said during the emotional hearing.
Nearly a dozen family members were present as Sponholz asked Judge William Domina for leniency. Sponholz claimed he never saw Farhat when he struck him with his minivan, saying he thought he had hit a deer instead.
Judge Domina criticized Sponholz's initial response to the crash.
Watch: Waukesha man sentenced to 7 years for killing tow truck driver on Christmas Eve
"Your initial reaction was to hide responsibility and avoid," Domina said. "People deserve to be treated as human beings, not discarded. Not dumped in a ditch. Not pushed to the side like a dead deer."
Following the Christmas Eve crash, tow truck drivers gathered in Waukesha County from around the area to remind people to slow down and move over in honor of Farhat. The judge said if Sponholz had followed that law, the family would not be without their father.
"There are three children who don't have a father who will grow up wondering what would have been. What could have been," Domina said.
A new law was passed that requires people to not only slow down and move over for tow trucks but also for any disabled vehicle on the road.
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