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Westland man sentenced to 6-15 years in drunk driving case that killed 911 operator

By Jack Nissen
Published  September 26, 2022 8:50am EDT
Crime and Public Safety
FOX 2 Detroit

Westland man to be sentenced in drunk driving case that killed woman

Dale Good, a resident of Westland, is expected to be sentenced for a reckless driving charge that caused a woman's death in 2019.

DETROIT (FOX 2) - A Westland man charged in the fatal car crash that killed a 911 worker was sentenced to 6-15 years Monday.

Dale Good pled guilty to reduced charges of reckless driving causing death in June, having two other charges dismissed as part of the deal. He was ordered to pay $198 in fees and earned credit for three days served.

Good's plea deal was accepted on June 29. He appeared in 3rd Circuit Court in front of Judge Christopher Michael. The Westland man was taken into custody in 2019 after he drove the wrong way on the highway and killed a woman.

The victim, a 911 dispatcher for the Detroit Regional Command Center, died in December when her BMW was struck by a pickup truck. Good had blown a .22 BAC after the crash - more than three times the legal limit. 

After it took too long for charges to be filed, the family of Vanessa Simmons who died in the accident hired Attorney Geoffrey Fieger to help with the case. In January, Michigan State Police said the case was handed over to the Wayne County Prosecutor in February of 2020, three months after Simmons died.

MORE: Westland man charged in 2019 wrong way death of Detroit 911 dispatcher on the Lodge

But the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office said the warrant request that was first presented from state police failed to follow the intake protocol and was missing key information. The pandemic pushed the court proceedings back even further.

Good was arraigned on Oct. 29 on three charges: homicide in the second degree, reckless driving causing death, and operating while under the influence causing death.