DOJ secures guilty plea, license revocation in DUI collision

A state representative has entered a plea agreement to resolve charges from a 2024 drunk driving collision.

Kevin Hensley, a state representative from the Townsend area, will have his driver's license revoked for a year and serve probation while undergoing required DUI instruction and paying a $500 fine after pleading guilty to Vehicular Assault 3rd Degree and Driving Under the Influence. Hensley's sentence includes a suspended 18-month prison sentence. The plea agreement follows an investigation led by the Delaware State Police.

"Drunk driving is dangerous and unacceptably common," said Attorney General Kathy Jennings. "No one has an excuse to get behind the wheel while under the influence; ever. It is a miracle no one was seriously injured or worse. I thank our prosecutors and the Delaware State Police for their excellent work in this case."

Hensley's sentence is consistent with both the statutory sentencing range for the charges against him and with recent sentences against similarly charged defendants.

On November 9, 2024, Hensley, 59, pulled out in front of a gray Ford Fusion while exiting the parking lot of a Valero gas station on Route 1 in Milford, colliding and causing the other vehicle to roll before coming to rest. Hensley and his adult daughter, a passenger in the vehicle, did not sustain injuries; the victim sustained lacerations and complained of chest pain where the airbag hit him. Hensley failed field sobriety tests and registered a 0.142 blood alcohol concentration (BAC) on a portable breathalyzer test and a 0.16 BAC on a subsequent blood draw.

Tragically, the victim later passed away of a cerebrovascular event stemming from an existing medical condition and deemed unrelated to the accident. Hensley has a prior conviction for Reckless Driving Alcohol Related from 2009; under state law, a prior DUI must have occurred within ten years in order to be considered a second offense.

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