A man from Spotsylvania County, Virginia has been sentenced to spend 10 years in prison for manslaughter while driving under the influence of alcohol after a crash that killed two of his friends.
On his way out of the court room after sentencing, Brandon Alexander Shunamon, 26, asked the judge if he could hug his mother.
"I'm sorry, I cannot let you do that," the judge replied.
Shunamon was speeding and intoxicated as he drove on Robert E. Lee Drive with his roommate, Taylor Wolfe, their friend Chelsea Favreau and a third passenger on Jan. 12 just after 10:30 p.m. They'd been celebrating Favreau's 21st birthday.
Shunamon was driving a 2007 Chevrolet pickup when it crossed the double yellow line and then ran off the road, police said. The truck struck trees, overturned into a ditch and caught fire.
Moments after the crash, only the front seat passenger was conscious, friends told News4. She tried to put out the fire. Shunamon came to and managed to pull the passenger from the truck, the friends said.
But when he returned for Wolfe and Favreau, the truck had exploded.
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Video released after the trial shows Shunamon denying any knowledge of the crash -- including that two friends were stuck inside a burning car.
"That's not my problem," he told an officer. Then, he denied being in the vehicle.
Officers later discovered he was speeding and drunk.
"I'm not a monster," Shunamon said in court. "I never intended what happened."
Shunamon was arrested and held without bond at the Rappahannock Regional Jail.
"Chelsea was universally adored for being genuine and kind and beautiful," her mother told News4. "The world is a darker place."
Wolfe leaves behind three children. Friends are raising money for both of their families; for Wolfe's, click here. For Favreau, click here.
