Nearly three years after former state legislator Cal Holman was killed in a three-vehicle crash, rulings have been handed down against the two men responsible for his death.
Robert Van Brakel, 45, was sentenced to five years in prison on May 18 after pleading guilty to manslaughter, and Travis Aronica, 28, was sentenced to three years supervised probation with a 60-day jail sentence suspended on two counts of endangerment, according to the Pinal County Attorney's Office.
In December 2007, Van Brakel and Aronica were drag racing at speeds of 80 mph to 100 mph on North Scottsdale Road in Scottsdale when they crashed into Holman's car, killing him just blocks from his home.
Holman, 76, was a Republican who served in the Arizona House of Representatives from 1975 to 1985, mostly in Paradise Valley's 24th District.
The Pinal County Attorney's Office prosecuted the case because of a conflict of interest in former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas' office as one of the defendants had a relative working in that office.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Timothy Ryan sentenced both Van Brakel and Aronica.
There will be a review of Aronica's jail term on July 8.
