March 19, 2024

Man sentenced to 10 years in teen’s death

Edwards pleads guilty to vehicular homicide

A Newton man pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 years in prison Monday for vehicular homicide in the death of a local teenager.

Daniel L. Edwards, 42, was charged in April 2013 after police determined Edwards was speeding and under the influence of synthetic drugs when he struck 14-year-old Brendan O’Brien with a Chevy Blazer, causing fatal injuries.

Edwards is also ordered to pay $150,000 in restitution to the family and $1,000 fine.

O’Brien was hit at approximately 9 p.m. on a Sunday night as he was walking northbound in the 1100 block of East 19th Street North with a group of friends. Edwards, traveling at approximately 41 mph in a 35 mph zone, hit him with his vehicle as he was out delivering pizzas, according to court documents.

After O’Brien was hit, he was thrown onto the hood of Edwards’ vehicle and carried for several feet before the Blazer came to a stop. O’Brien was unresponsive when police officers arrived on the scene. He was transferred to Skiff Medical Center and then airlifted to Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines where he died two days later as a result of injuries sustained in the collision.

Edwards consented to field sobriety tests and failed the walk and turn test. He also complied with providing a urine sample, which came back positive for the presence of synthetic cannabinoids, according to court documents. Police also recovered a pipe and more than 2 grams of synthetic cannabinoids, "Psycho" brand K2 substance, from Edwards' vehicle.
Edwards appeared to be distracted and looking down at the time of the accident, according to court documents.

An officer described Edwards as lacking emotion when officers arrived on scene, according to court documents. Another officer noted that he didn’t see any signs of impairment, but did want to perform field sobriety tests.

Online court records show that Edwards pleaded guilty in 2009 to a driving while barred habitual offender charge and has several other traffic charges on his record.

Contact Editor Abigail Pelzer at (641) 792-3121 ext. 6530 or apelzer@newtondailynews.com.