KEARNEY, Neb. — Kalen Pfeiffer apologized Monday in court to relatives and friends of Amber Frerichs and Neal Maloley for causing their 2017 deaths in a traffic wreck.
“I replay that night multiple, multiple times a day. I can’t imagine what you’re going through,” he said during his sentencing hearing Monday in Buffalo County District Court. “I would do anything to change places with Neal and Amber.”
Pfeiffer, 24, of rural Amherst, was sentenced to two to 10 years in prison on two counts of manslaughter in the deaths of Frerichs, 22, and Maloley, 30, both of Kearney.
Pfeiffer, who had faced a maximum of 20 years in prison on each count, pleaded no contest in March. Prosecutors dropped a charge of drunken driving in exchange for the pleas.
The two died on Feb. 4, 2017, after Pfeiffer lost control of the pickup he was driving on a rural Amherst road.
The pickup rolled, ejecting Frerichs and Maloley, who were pronounced dead at the scene.
Pfeiffer will serve the sentences at the same time. Under state sentencing guidelines, Judge John Marsh said Pfeiffer could be eligible for parole in one year and possibly discharged in five years. Pfeiffer was taken into custody immediately after the hearing.
Maloley’s widow, Nicole Maloley of Kearney, and Frerichs’ father, Barry Frerichs, of Bassett, Nebraska, spoke during Monday’s brief hearing before a crowd of nearly 60 people.
Maloley and Frerichs both directly looked at Pfeiffer several times, telling him the impact his decisions had had on them and their families.
