A man who was high on drugs and fatally injured a North Carolina church usher last summer has been sentenced to serve a minimum of 19 years and four months in prison.
Erik Brandon Randolph, 38, was high when he blacked out and lost control of his car in August 2016. Randolph drove the car off the road and crashed into Steven Curtis Stewart, who was waiting for a bus to United Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church.
Stewart, 32, died nine days after the accident at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
Randolph had to be revived from the amount of drugs in his system.
Stewart’s sister, Tamika Stewart, said she initially wanted to hate Randolph.
“I forgive him because my brother would forgive him,” she said. “I forgive him because my brother wouldn’t hate him … I pray that you will find forgiveness within yourself. I pray that the Lord will help you throughout your problems. I pray that this will be a lesson for everyone sitting in this courtroom. It’s not worth it. It’s not worth it. It’s not worth it.”
Randolph pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, careless and reckless driving, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving while license revoked, failure to reduce speed and driving while impaired.
According to his attorney, Randolph had been struggling with drug addiction since he was 21. He also said he was sorry for what he did.
“I know I hurt you beyond repair,” he said. “I’ve taken something irreplaceable.”
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Publication date: October 25, 2017
