Judge Throws the Book at Brandi Weidner for Mowing Down, Killing Gunnar McNeill with Car

SAN ANGELO, TX -- Brandi Weidner will be 42-years-old in ten years if she serves the full sentence handed down by visiting judge Brock Jones Wednesday.  

Weidner pleaded guilty last week to causing an accident that resulted in the death of 20-year-old Gunnar McNeill on December 23, 2014.  Testimony in the punishment phase of the trial showed Weidner was driving a rented red Chevrolet Malibu which struck McNeill in the 3700 block of U.S. 87 North.  She did not stop and render aid, instead, she drove to a residence on Raccoon Rd. in Grape Creek.

San Angelo Police Officer Michael Gaeta was a CID detective at the time of the accident.  He testified that he found McNeill’s body in a cone of debris in the grassy area between the main roadway and the frontage road.  Gaeta told the court he found parts of the rented car Weidner was driving.  He also testified he found a half-smoked cigar in the grill of the car and a package of similar cigars in McNeill’s backpack.  

Gaeta testified that autopsy results showed McNeill’s blood had traces of THC consistent with smoking marijuana.  Weidner told investigators she had been at a Christmas party at the Ice House Bar on N. Chadbourne and had been drinking the night of the accident.  She initially told investigators she thought she hit a deer.  

Weidner was arrested and charged with causing an accident involving death.  She was free on bond for almost three years.  Tom Green County Sheriff’s Deputy Graham Smith took the stand and testified that in October of 2017 he arrested Weidner for Driving While Intoxicated during a traffic stop in Grape Creek.   

McNeill’s mother Carrie Sharp took the stand.  She told Judge Jones that the death of her only son shattered her life.  She said she has trouble driving and couldn’t work.  When the prosecutor asked here what the punishment should be, she said she was not the person to ask.  Sharp said she will never get another phone call from her son, but Weidner will.  She said she will never have another Christmas with her son, but Weidner will.  

Defense attorney Joe Hernandez had filed a request for probation because Weidner had no previous criminal convictions.  She was facing two to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 or probation.

Judge Jones sentenced Weidner to ten years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison system beginning immediately.  She was remanded to the custody of the Tom Green County Sheriff and taken back to jail.  

Weidner can appeal her conviction while she is serving the sentence.