ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. — It was an emotional day Roy Cottner said he had waited to see for nearly two years: sentencing day for Joseph Faupel.
The 65-year-old, Troy, Missouri, man charged in a road rage incident that killed Cottner's childhood sweetheart and 69-year-old wife, Patricia.
Faupel pleaded guilty to the charges last November.
"'Patsy' was my friend. She stood up for me and I stood up for her. I loved her so much," Cottner said.
On March 29, 2022, the Cottners were on Highway 61 at Route W in St. Charles County heading home to Moscow Mills.
"I drove our car that day and she sat in the front passenger seat," Cottner said.
Witnesses told police Faupel tried to pass Daniel Loeffler's car on the highway, but he couldn't because Loeffler sped up.
Prosecutors said the two men touched off a road rage incident that caused Faupel to hit Loeffler's car, which pushed him into the Cottners' Honda.
The couple's car left the the highway, hit a telephone police and flipped several times.
Patricia, a beloved great-grandmother and retired secretary, was killed.
"Those two drivers purposely did what they did," Cottner said.
The Cottners were married for three years.
Roy now walks with a limp as a result of the crash.
"It comes and goes and I don't do much of anything anymore," Cottner said.
Ron Brockmeyer, Faupel's lawyer, called the road rage incident "a negligent and stupid accident, but not intentional."
Brockmeyer asked the judge to place his client on probation.
However, during today's 30-minute hearing, circuit court Judge Deborah Alessi handed Faupel the maximum sentence: five years in prison for involuntary manslaughter that will run concurrently with a four-year sentence for second-degree assault.
"I'm glad he was found guilty. I'm glad he's getting time and not probation because that wouldn't serve the purpose for anything," the victim's husband said.
"They put a lot of lives in danger," Regina Armstrong, the Cottners' daughter who lives in Arizona, said.
"I was face-timing my mom on that day. She was in a great mood, we were having a good conversation and all of a sudden the call dropped. I never had any idea that would be my last conversation with my mom. We waited for nearly two years for this day and we feel that justice has been served and we are extremely happy," Armstrong said.
Faupel apologized to the Cottners and said he wished "he could take back that day."
In the meantime, Daniel Loeffler, the other driver, will return to court next month.
"Yes, I will be there too," Cottner said.