Man Sentenced in Fatal Flint Township Crash

(source: Genesee County Sheriff’s Department)

A Flint Township man will spend most of, if not the rest of his life behind bars for a crash that killed two people last year.

44-year-old Richard Fields was sentenced to between 30-90 years in prison after pleading guilty to several felonies including:

Two counts of second-degree murder
Two counts of operating while intoxicated causing death
Two counts of operating with a suspended license causing death
One count of operating while intoxicated causing serious injury
One count of operating with a suspended license causing serious injury

On May 27, 2023, Fields was driving a Chevy Silverado while intoxicated on I-75 near Beecher Road in Flint Township, heading the wrong way in the northbound lanes. He crashed into a Buick sedan, killing 24-year-old Lauren Shoens and 31-year-old Richard Pepitone. A dog in the car aslo died in the crash, though the driver survived with serious injuries.

Fields’ blood alcohol content was .343 at the time of the crash, more than four times the legal limit in Michigan.