It was a prime example of how just drinking and driving one time can have tragic consequences. That was the message today from the Clearwater County prosecutor and family of a well-known pastor killed by a drunk driver.

58-year-old David Nelson was going nearly 70 mph in a 30 mph zone with a blood alcohol content of .267 one morning last year when his pickup rear-ended 69-year-old Verlyn Strenge’s vehicle at the intersection of Highways 2 and 92 in downtown Bagley. Strenge, a pastor at First Baptist Church in Clearbrook, was killed in the crash, and his wife was seriously injured.

On Wednesday, the judge ordered Nelson to spend almost three years in state prison for vehicular homicide. But after the hearing, Strenge’s widow, daughter, and son all walked up to Nelson to hug him and say to him face-to-face that they forgive him and will be praying for him and his family, and that he needs to forgive himself.

Correction: The original headline on this story said Pastor Strenge was from Bagley, but he was actually a pastor at First Baptist Church in Clearbrook. We regret the error.

By — Lakeland News