A man in Colorado was shown leniency in the justice system after a tragic accident where he struck a married couple with his vehicle, resulting in the husband’s death.

In September, 28-year-old Samuel Robert Michael admitted guilt to several charges: vehicular assault leading to death, vehicular homicide, driving under the influence, careless driving that caused injury, and reckless driving that resulted in significant harm to a vulnerable road user, as reported by the District Attorney’s Office for the 23rd Judicial District to Law&Crime.

On Monday, Judge Elizabeth B. Volz of the 23rd Judicial District Court decided on a sentence of four years in community corrections for Michael. This alternative to incarceration in Colorado resembles a halfway house arrangement.

The Colorado Department of Corrections explains that this form of punishment serves as an alternative to prison, intended for those who have committed felonies.

The tragic event took place on the evening of February 22. That night, after consuming a significant amount of alcohol, Michael drove north on First Street in Castle Rock before making a left turn onto Wilcox Street.

But Kraig Kazda, 69, and his family were also out that evening.

After eating a dinner downtown with his daughter and son-in-law, Kazda and his wife crossed Wilcox holding hands at a crosswalk, according to a courtroom report by the Douglas County News-Press.

During the sentencing hearing, Michelle Kazda said she remembered the headlights coming for her and her husband. She said there was no chance to escape the vehicle as it headed right for them.

Kraig Kazda was rushed to the intensive care unit at a nearby hospital. He passed away on April 16, suffering from a traumatic brain injury, at a rehabilitation facility after weeks of efforts to save his life.

“They had to restrain him because he would keep pulling the oxygen tubes out of his nose,” Michelle Kazda said in comments reported by Denver-based Fox and The CW affiliate KDVR. “He was shutting down.”

As it turned out, the defendant’s blood alcohol level was almost twice the legal limit of 0.08% when he was finally tested by law enforcement some two hours after the incident that would prove fatal.

The victim’s daughter, Paula Bailey, was driving home immediately after dinner and spotted her mother lying in the street – shouting and waving and covered in blood – as her father lay unconscious.

“In reality, my dad was gone that night,” Bailey said at the sentencing hearing, referring to the night of the crash.

Immediately after the incident, the defendant stopped to render aid, a fact noted by the defense and Michael’s own family during the sentencing hearing. The defense also characterized the incident as a “slow speed accident” and said Michael has repeatedly offered to help the family since Kazda passed away.

In contrast, during the hearing, the victim’s family claimed Michael was uncooperative with law enforcement at the scene of the crime by refusing questions and declining to submit to tests.

Michael, for his part, offered contrition.

“All I am is sorry,” he said, according to courtroom reports by CBS News and KDVR. “There’s not a second in the day that I don’t wish I could take my own life and give his back.”

Michael faced up to 13 years behind bars for the combined charges. Both the prosecution and the victim’s relatives pushed for that maximum sentence. In the end, after two hours of testimony from all the parties concerned, the judge leaned toward leniency.

In fact, the aforementioned Department of Corrections website says the program is “often referred to as a ‘halfway house.’”

The defendant will have to be accepted by a community corrections provider, however, and if he is not accepted, he will have to return to the court for another sentencing hearing.

To hear Volz tell it, Michael lacked any criminal history prior to the fatal incident, had many letters of support, and was the only vehicular homicide defendant in her 15 years on the bench to plead guilty to every charge he faced, the News-Press reported.

In response, both the victim’s family and the state had sharp words for the outcome.

“If you drive drunk and kill a person, you can walk out of court on probation; if you drive drunk and kill two people, you can walk out of court on probation,” District Attorney George Brauchler said in comments reported by the local newspaper.

The slain man’s son-in-law, Burtel Bailey, essentially echoed that assessment.

“Shock. Very disappointed. There’s no real consequence to the action of drinking and driving and, specifically, apparently, drinking and killing someone,” Bailey told CBS News.