KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Nearly 2 years after two people from Kalamazoo were killed, the driver who hit them knows his fate.
On the evening of July 20, 2022, Jory Wiersma was driving at high speed on Douglas Ave near West C Ave when he tried to pass another vehicle, instead hitting a motorcycle carrying 69-year-old Jeanette Barraia and 68-year-old Calvin Olinger.
The head-on crash killed both Barraia and Olinger— at the time, the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) noted alcohol and speed were factors.
According to a release from KCSO, Wiersma pleaded no contest to 2 counts of Operating While Intoxicated Causing Death, and being a habitual offender.
On Monday, a judge deemed the 37-year-old Kalamazoo man would spend 7 to 22.5 years in prison.
