Fort Collins Man who Paralyzed High School Student Sentenced

The driver of the car who paralyzed a Poudre High School student in March was finally sentenced. According to the Coloradoan, thirty-six year-old Reginald Loewen was sentenced to six months in jail, and three years supervised probation by District Judge Thomas French.

On March 10, 2015, Loewen hit seventeen year-old Connor Walsh with his car as he was walking to school. Loewen hit Connor at the intersection of Laporte Avenue and Taft Hill Road, then proceeded to leave Connor on the cold hard ground. Walsh's worst fears were realized when he couldn't feel his legs, and the doctors informed him and his family that he wold most likely never walk again, having suffered a broken back from the accident.

At the sentencing, Loewen's friends and family attested to his good character, and Loewen himself, who pled guilty to the hit and run in August, stated, " I offer my deepest apologies [ ...] and accept the sentence that the court gives me, I am responsible, and I am so sorry."

Loewen claims that he hit a guardrail or a bunch of tree branches. Judge French said that "no evidence that Loewen's departure of the scene made Walsh's injuries any worse" had an impact on his sentencing, and that, "This sentence is not a slap on the wrist," French said. "Being in jail for even one day is not easy."

If you would like to help the Walsh family, Poudre High School is hosting a movie night to help the family raise money to purchase a vehicle to transport Connor.