CHIEFTAIN PHOTO/TRACY HARMON Sue Lan, the mother of victim Chu Kin Britt Graff, cries as she holds on to the sign dedicated to her daughter as friends and family gathered Monday to remember Graff. MADD state victim advocate Pam VanOverbeke of Colorado Springs said she hopes the sign will help prevent other families from going through this pain.

DUI death gets Springs man 8-year term

By TRACY HARMON
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

PENROSE - A 42-year-old Colorado Springs man was sentenced in Fremont County District Court Monday to an eight-year prison term in connection with a felony vehicular homicide that claimed the life of a former Canon City woman.

Mark Proctor was driving an estimated 76 mph the afternoon of Nov. 12, 2003, when he ran a stop sign on Third Street at Colorado 115 in Penrose and hit broadside a vehicle driven by Chu Kin Britt Graff, 39, a Canon City High School graduate who was living in Fort Collins at the time.

Graff died instantly when her vehicle flipped onto its top.

Proctor's blood alcohol content was measured at 0.167 shortly after the accident - well past the legal limit which at the time was 0.10.

Proctor pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide while driving under the influence as part of a plea agreement and could have faced anywhere between 4 to 12 years in prison.

Graff's fiance, Allan Brooks, spoke during sentencing about losing a woman who had given new meaning to his life and become the most important thing in his life.

"We had settled on a spot to build our dream house and we were to be married in the fall of 2004. We were like best friends and we had so much to look forward to," Brooks said.

"What Mr. Proctor did was no less than murder. He made the choice to take those drinks and he chose to drive.

"Sometimes I call her number and hope she'll pick up and this will all have been a nightmare. I have this overwhelming feeling of grief," Brooks told Judge David Thorsen.

The judge also heard, via letter, from Graff's young niece and nephew who learned of her tragic death just a couple of weeks ago when they visited her grave. Their parents feared they were too young to hear the news at the time of her death.

In arguing for the maximum 12-year prison term, prosecutor John Rice said Proctor, who had two previous drinking and driving offenses prior to killing Graff, made the choice to drink and drive.

"He got in the car and drove and he drove extremely fast. He also said he was distracted by his cell phone which was on the floor of the car and he reached down to pick it up," Rice explained.

"The consequences of his mistakes are so severe. The (Graff) family would like to see him serve life in prison and this is a case where the maximum sentence is not enough," Rice said.

"Chu Kin had no chance to avoid what happened to her. The edge of her passenger door was pushed all the way into the driver's seat," Rice said.

In pushing for a more lenient community corrections sentence, defense attorney Dennis Hartley of Colorado Springs said his client was the most remorseful he had seen in 33 years as a defense attorney.

"He is not drinking now and he has gone out into the community to talk to people about the terrible consequences and the horrible grief he feels," Hartley said.

Proctor apologized to Graff's family.

"Where do I find the words to try to ease the pain for these people? Sorry does not cut it.

"I would trade places with her," Proctor said.

Thorsen found middle ground in imposing an eight-year prison term, which he said was lenient.

"You would deserve every day of 12 years and Mr. Rice is right, you deserve more than that," Thorsen told Proctor.

"What kind of world would this be if people did not learn not to drink and drive until they killed somebody? It is a compulsion, it is a disease," Thorsen said.

Graff's family and representatives of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers placed a memorial sign at the intersection of the crash Monday as a reminder of Graff and as a symbol to others about the cost of drunk driving.