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NewsThursday, August 30, 2007 8:19 PM CDT
Man sentenced
in fatal collision
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EDWARDSVILLE — A north-central Illinois man has been sentenced to 18 years in prison on charges tied to a crash that killed two boys and critically injured their mother.

Forty-eight-year-old Timothy Barnhart of Ottawa pleaded guilty in May in Madison County to seven felonies, including reckless homicide, aggravated driving under the influence and driving with a revoked license.

Barnhart was passing other vehicles in a no-passing zone near Prairietown in June 2005 when his sport utility vehicle collided with an oncoming car.

Four-year-old Mason Scroggins and 10-year-old Bryan Scroggins were killed. Their mother, Holly Scroggins, was critically injured.

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Reader comments on this story - 8 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

to: penny wrote on Aug 31, 2007 4:33 PM:

" those are some great points, good call. honestly, in the end, what else can you do? without taking some sort of side on the issue of capital punishment, is it ever really that true that the family of a victim actually feels any kind of reconciliation, release, or closure once the convict is killed? what really changes, regarding our own sufferings, when others are made to suffer just as much and worse, all in some desperate retaliation? im not talking about bowing to every oppressive force, being a doormat, or somehow rewarding the most hurtful people and hurtful actions. but is anything won when, in defense and retaliation, we become just the same as those that hurt us? in this case, for instance, this is not a premeditated act of hate and destruction, though it was profound ignorance and stupidity. "

To: To: Just me wrote on Aug 31, 2007 4:12 PM:

" Did you even read the story? This person was sentenced in MADISON County. But I do agree that the sentencing guidelines can be very messed up, and inconsistent to the crime committed. "

To Just Me wrote on Aug 31, 2007 3:22 PM:

" It is not so much the country sir but the mamby pamby judges of McLean County. In this county you can rape children and kill people and get less time than a drug dealer. Good thing they finally decided to open a drug court in this Kangaroo County. "

Interesting... wrote on Aug 31, 2007 11:20 AM:

" If he had done this in Dewitt county they would have plea bargained for 30 months of probation and alcohol rehab. "

Just me wrote on Aug 31, 2007 10:35 AM:

" 2 lives and he only gets 18 years? Someone who is transporting drugs gets 22. This country is so messed up. And the mother has to live the rest of her life suffering and without her children. This is one of those times I am not so proud to be in America. "

To Normal Guy wrote on Aug 31, 2007 9:41 AM:

" I agree 100%. "

Penny wrote on Aug 31, 2007 9:01 AM:

" I have great admiration for the mother of these boys, who possesses enough honor and dignity to not allow her heart and life to become consumed with hate for the man who took her sons. She patted the convicted on the back and hugged him, and by doing so, she wasn't saying "It's okay that you killed my kids." What she was saying was "You took what mattered most, but I refuse to allow you to have so much power and control over my life to make my heart bitter and make me hate..." What a classy lady! She took the high road, a road many people will never work toward. God Bless You, Holly. "

Normal Guy wrote on Aug 31, 2007 2:13 AM:

" He deserved life! "

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