By Dan Shaw

A West Lafayette man will spend up to 81/2 years in prison for driving while intoxicated and killing another man.

On Feb. 4 -- Super Bowl Sunday -- Terry L. Verhoeven, 57, took a mixture of psychoactive drugs prescribed by a doctor and opioids. He then drove a car and caused a crash that killed Charles Meyer, 58, of West Lafayette.

Meyer's widow, Ginny Meyer, told Superior Court 2 Judge Thomas Busch she had been married to her husband for 30 years. She hoped Verhoeven would learn to resist his vices in prison.

"He killed me that day because it was our dreams, and our plans and our traveling," she said of herself and her husband. "Starting life over after 30 years with someone is very difficult."

Verhoeven said he was sorry for causing the crash.

"I wish I could make this right," he said. "But I can't in any way except what is happening in this courtroom today."

Verhoeven pleaded guilty in September to operating a vehicle while being intoxicated and causing a death, a Class B felony. He also admitted that, in an unrelated matter, he had pointed a firearm at someone, a Class A misdemeanor.

For both crimes, Busch sentenced Verhoeven to spend 81/2 years in prison and 91/2 years on probation. He also ordered his license to be suspended throughout the term of the probation.

Verhoeven said he would appeal the length of the suspension.

In his plea hearing, Verhoeven said that he suffers from bipolar disorder and he needed surgery on his knee and hip.

Still, according to Busch, Verhoeven should have known better than to take the drugs before driving. Verhoeven had a 2002 conviction of driving while intoxicated, Busch noted.

In the Feb. 4 accident, Verhoeven was driving a Chevrolet Malibu on U.S. 52 West. East of the Soldiers Home Road overpass, the car hit a Toyota pickup truck in the back, pushing the truck across the highway's center strip.

The driver of the truck, Charles Meyer, 58, of West Lafayette, was killed from injuries he suffered after the truck hit a Lexus sport utility vehicle. Meyer worked as a information technology specialist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.