The driver of a semi-tractor trailer whose vehicle crashed and killed three people on US-23 in Green Oak Township has been sentenced.

63-year-old Gary Bryce Erard was sentenced by 53rd District Court Judge Suzanne Geddis Monday to nine months in the Livingston County Jail. A jury last month found him guilty of three counts of a moving violation causing death after just over an hour of deliberations. His conviction resulted in a longer sentence than what he would’ve received had he taken a plea deal. Erard had earlier withdrawn a no contest plea to three misdemeanor counts of the same charge after learning Judge Geddis would sentence him to six months in jail and two years of probation.

Erard was charged as a result of the April 2017 incident on southbound US-23, south of Lee Road, which involved multiple vehicles and ended in three fatalities. Green Oak Township Police say Erard failed to stop as he approached other vehicles stopped in a construction zone, striking six of them.

One of the vehicles, a 1997 Ford Escort, was completely destroyed in the crash after the truck rolled over on top of it. The driver of the Escort, 51-year-old Robin Brown of Milford, was pronounced dead at the scene. His 25-year-old fiancé, Sarah Miller of Milford, later died from her injuries at the University of Michigan Hospital where she was taken after being removed from the wreckage by members of the Green Oak Township Fire Department. 52-year-old Roby Steele of Davison, who was driving a 2016 Chevy Sonic that was also hit by the semi, was also pronounced dead at the scene after being removed from his vehicle. (DK/JK)