Christopher Diehl, Virginia inmate 1830987, born 1985, incarceration intake September 2017 at age 32, sentenced to 15 years, with 7 years suspended, released
DUI, Aggravated Involuntary Manslaughter
In September 2017 a Fishersville Virginia man who killed another driver in a crash in the summer of 2016 while heading the wrong way on interstate 81 was sentenced.
Christopher S. Diehl, 32, faced the possibility of 21 years in prison after being convicted in June 2017 on charges of aggravated involuntary manslaughter and driving while intoxicated. Diehl was sentenced 15 years in prison with 7 years being suspended.
Shortly before 5 a.m. on June 26, 2016, Diehl was drunk when he got behind the wheel of a 2016 Toyota Tundra pickup. Authorities said he entered the northbound lanes of I-81 at Va. 262, just south of Staunton.
He then proceeded to drive for more than five miles against traffic as several motorists phoned police. Witnesses at Diehl’s trial testified they saw the truck weaving back and forth while it came directly at them in the wrong direction.
At the 214.9 mile marker, Diehl’s truck slammed into Hoang’s 2011 Volkswagen Tiguan, the force of the crash ejecting her car engine and battery onto the interstate, photos at the trial showed. Hoang died at the scene.
Diehl testified he couldn’t recall the crash, and said around 1 a.m. on the day in question he lay down on a couch after drinking five to six beers at a friend's home in Stuarts Draft. He said that was his last memory before coming to in the middle of I-81 after the crash.
Hours after the crash his blood-alcohol content was measured at 0.15, nearly twice Virginia’s legal limit.
Diehl, who had been free on a $100,000 bond prior to his trial, was remanded to Middle River Regional Jail following his conviction.
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