Man to serve 3 years in wreck that killed winemaker

A Charlottesville businessman was sentenced to three years in prison Tuesday for causing the 2010 drunken driving wreck that killed a local vintner.

William Thomas Thompson, 59, looked down at the defendant’s table as Judge John E. Kloch sentenced him in Albemarle County Circuit Court to 11 years in prison, of which eight were suspended.

Thompson, the owner of Rocky Top REC in Charlottesville, pleaded guilty in April to involuntary manslaughter and DUI in the Oct. 4 wreck that killed 31-year-old Daniel Mark Neumeister of Crozet.

Kloch gave Thompson more than the recommended six-month jail sentence and said it was hard for him to believe Thompson had only driven drunk on the day of the wreck.

“This is a tough case because no matter what the court does Mr. Neumeister is never coming back, he’s gone,” Kloch said before imposing the sentence. “It’s especially traumatic for this family in the way that Mr. Neumeister died because they never got to say goodbye.”

Kloch also sentenced Thompson to supervised probation and ordered him to be on good behavior for 10 years upon his release from prison.

He will not be able to consume alcohol and must attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings as part of his probation and will not be able to drive for a year after his release, Kloch said.

Thompson was driving eastbound on Earlysville Road shortly before 2 p.m. on Oct. 4 when he lost control of his 2001 Ford station wagon. Thompson crossed the centerline and into the path of Neumeister’s motorcycle. Neumeister, who was wearing a helmet, was thrown from the bike and died at the scene.

After the wreck, Albemarle police found an empty bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey in the passenger’s seat of Thompson’s car and a receipt showing he had bought a bottle from a local ABC store that morning.

Thompson’s blood-alcohol content measured at 0.111 after the accident, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Jon R. Zug said in court. The legal limit in Virginia is 0.08.

Neumeister was an up-and-coming winemaker and at the time of his death was working at White Hall Vineyards as an assistant winemaker and as lead (and only) winemaker at Sugarleaf Vineyards in North Garden.

To a packed courtroom Tuesday, Neumeister’s family members testified about their loss.

“Dan was a very unique person,” said his mother, Jan Harrison. “I’ve heard this from so many people … sometimes when first meeting [Dan] they weren’t impressed, but once they got to know him they wanted to grow a ponytail and ride a motorcycle just like Dan.”

Susan Thompson, wife of the defendant, testified that she did not know her husband had been drinking during the day. She said he has no memory of the bottle of Jack Daniels being purchased or why her husband was drinking on that day.

“In our times together, I’ve never known him to be a big drinker,” Susan Thompson said. “He’s punished himself physically [for the accident] … it will never leave him.”

Before his sentence was announced, William Thompson read to the court a statement apologizing to Neumeister’s family and friends for his “gross error in judgment.” Thompson, who had no previous criminal history and a good driving record at the time of the wreck, turned himself over to Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail officials in June to start serving his prison sentence.

He wore his prison outfit to the courtroom and looked down at the defense table or slightly forward as witnesses testified.

“I’ll never know the depth of their brokenness,” Thompson said in a whisper. “I’m profoundly sorry for what I’ve done.”