Life sentence handed down to Hillsborough man following deaths of three linemen repairing Hurricane Michael damage
John Goedtke, from Hillsborough County, pleaded no contest to the hit-and-run deaths of three linemen in the Panhandle. They were working to restore electricity during the recovery of Hurricane Michael. (Washington County Sheriff's Office)
CHIPLEY, Fla. - A Thonotosassa man who prosecutors say was high on drugs when his pickup truck fatally struck three utility workers in the Florida Panhandle as they were repairing power lines after Hurricane Michael was sentenced Monday to life in prison.
John Goedtke, 38, had pleaded no contest last week to three counts of DUI manslaughter, one count of leaving the scene of a crash involving death and one count of driving without a license, court records indicate. He was sentenced by a judge in Washington County.
On the evening of October 24, 2018, Goedtke was driving a pickup truck, hauling a U-Haul trailer, at high speed just before he crashed north of Panama City, according to investigators. They said Goedtke was driving near Chipley when his truck veered off a State Road 77 onto the shoulder and struck George Cecil, Ryan Barrett and James Ussery. One of the victims was dragged under the truck.
Goedtke ran from the scene but was later tracked down and captured, authorities said. Lab analysis of blood drawn shortly after the crash showed Goedtke had enough methamphetamine and amphetamine in his system to render him impaired, according to prosecutors.
Cesil died at the scene. Barrett died shortly after while he was being transported to a hospital. Ussery passed away at a hospital, according to the state attorney’s office.
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Hillsborough County court records show 27 arrests in 18 years for Goedtke including nine arrests for driving on a suspended or revoked license and four arrests for leaving a crash scene.
Cesil, 52, and Barrett, 22, worked for North Carolina-based Lee Electric Construction, and Ussery, 61, for the West Florida Electric Cooperative.
“Our hearts were broken that night in October,” Sheriff Kevin Crews said in a statement. “These men were working around the clock to restore any sense of normalcy they could for our community and their lives were literally ripped out from underneath them. We have and will continue to grieve as a community since this tragedy. We can only hope today brings a sense of closure. We would like for the Barrett, Cesil, and Ussery families to know that our doors, and our hearts, are always open to them.”
Hurricane Michael made landfall in the Florida Panhandle on Oct. 10, 2018. It was the first Category 5 storm to strike the contiguous United States since Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.