MUSKEGON, Mich. — A western Michigan man wore a vial containing his girlfriend's ashes when he was sentenced to jail in a crash that killed her and her unborn child.
Donovan Wilson was driving with Nikki Bart on Dec. 30, 2015, when he ran a stop sign and struck another vehicle. Bart, 21, died in the accident. She was in her third trimester.
Wilson pleaded no contest in June to operating under the influence of a controlled substance and marijuana possession.
On Monday, Wilson was sentenced to six months in jail and three years' probation. His driver's license also was stripped away. The court suspended four months of his jail sentence.
"This is a horribly sad situation," defense attorney Jeffrey West said during sentencing at Muskegon County Circuit Court. "It was an unfamiliar road, and they were returning from shopping for their child."
West said the vial hanging around Wilson's neck contained Bart's ashes, The Muskegon Chronicle reported.
"His grief is great," West said.
The families of Bart and Wilson sat on adjacent benches in the courtroom during his sentencing. Bart's mother asked Judge Timothy Hicks not to send Wilson to prison.