NEWTON, NC (WBTV) – In Newton Wednesday, a man pled guilty to a hit and run accident that killed an Appalachian State University graduate student in October of 2009.
Daniel Whisnant admitted he had been drinking and said he remembered hitting something on highway 321 early in the morning but didn't know until he was arrested that the "something" that he hit was 22 year old Charlene Sybrant.
The woman and a friend had run out of gas and were walking along the highway when Whisnant struck the pair and kept going.
She was killed instantly; her companion was injured and survived. After Whisnant pled guilty to several charges in the accident he turned to the family and with tears rolling down his cheeks he begged for forgiveness.
"I'm just asking please at least for a little bit, for me, give a little bit of forgiveness, please forgive me." He apologized for what happened and added "I wish I could take it back."
The family asked the judge to impose the maximum sentence possible but under a plea deal reached with the prosecution, Whisnant was sentenced to a minimum of 38 months behind bars with a maximum of 55 months.
Whisnant's father addressed the court and the Sybrant family saying the whole incident "Has been heartbreaking for us." He told the family he was thinking about them and apologized for his son's actions.
The family said it is still grieving over the loss and any talk of forgiveness is tough right now. "I was always taught you had to forgive," said Sybrant's mother Dee.
"There will come a time when I can forgive him but today, probably not the best day for me to answer that question."
