14 DAY TRIAL // Robert Malsch, the drunk driver who killed Microsoft HoloLens developer Michael Ey in a car accident on the evening of February 28, 2015, will spend the next 10 years in prison, as he received the maximum sentence after being found guilty of vehicular homicide-DUI, felony hit-and-run, and reckless driving.
According to a report by Kiro TV, the sentence was announced on Friday after Malsch pleaded guilty in May this year.
On February 28, 2015, Microsoft HoloLens developer Michael Ey and his girlfriend Kelley Piering were heading towards their newly bought house when their car was rear-ended by a 2008 Volkswagen Rabbit driven by Robert Malsch, who at the time of the incident was 21 years old.
After the accident, Malsch attempted to start the car and get away, but he was then arrested by the police. Investigators revealed that his blood alcohol level was 0.26, which, according to the aforementioned source, is no less than three times the legal limit.
He tried to run away when on bail
Malsch was driving the car with no less than 112 miles per hour (180 km/h) when he slammed into Ey’s 2010 Honda Fit, so both cars were destroyed almost entirely. The Microsoft HoloLens developer, however, was the only one killed in the accident, as both his girlfriend and Malsch suffered only minor injuries.
And although he was arrested for killing Ey, Robert Malsch even tried to get away from a courtroom when he was out of custody on bail, and he attempted to escape the police by dying his hair and providing a different identity. This was one of the reasons he received the maximum sentence in this case, the source notes.
Michael Ey, who was only 30 years old when he was killed by the drunk driver, was one of the developers working on Microsoft’s most innovative products in years, the HoloLens. Colleagues describe him as one of the most talented developers in the team, as he had a key role in bringing the HoloLens to life.
UPDATE, November 23, 2016: We're being told Michale Ey was alone in his car and his girlfriend Kelley Piering was actually at home at the time of the accident. We apologize for the error.