The family of a woman killed by a distracted driver in downtown Sheridan a year ago said they feel slighted by what they call a lenient sentence handed down to the driver.
David Vincent Johnson, 34, was sentenced to 60 days in jail and two years of supervised probation and fines in Sheridan County Circuit Court on Friday after a nearly four-hour sentencing hearing.
The sentencing happened a year and a day after Johnson struck 65-year-old Julie Fitzsimmons, who had been legally crossing in the crosswalk when Johnson hit her with his pickup.
Fitzsimmons had been visiting her daughter Kate Gladdin and husband Nate, from Australia, when she was struck.
She died of blunt force trauma to her head after being thrown more than 7 feet by the vehicle.
Johnson, who was not impaired at the time of the accident, was charged with vehicular manslaughter, which is punishable by up to a year in jail, a fine of up to $2,000, or both.
In Wyoming, vehicular manslaughter can be either a misdemeanor or felony, which carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
To be considered a felony, the driver has to be driving recklessly or be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
High Bar
Since Johnson was sober, as Gladdin explained in an earlier interview, meeting the standard of “reckless” is a high bar.
Johnson’s sentence was in accordance with the plea deal he agreed to, as did Gladdin and her father, Vince, to avoid the pain of a trial and to protect her mother’s dignity, Gladdin said.
However, Gladdin said she hoped that Sheridan County Circuit Court Judge Sheryl Bunting would have punished Johnson to the full extent of the law, as is her discretion given his past criminal history related to his driving.
At the time of the accident, Johnson was on probation for domestic battery and evading police in 2024, according to court records.
He pleaded no contest to the charges and was sentenced to 90 days in jail with 88 days suspended and a year probation with six months supervised, as well as under $1,000 in fines.
Johnson also had a DUI in December 2023 in which he crashed his vehicle, and a handful of other driving violations that warranted his designation as a high-risk driver by the state of Wyoming, requiring him to carry SR-22 insurance.
Kate Gladdin enjoyed a final night under a rainbow with her mother, Julie Fitzsimons, a few days before her death. 
65-year-old Julie Fitzsimons left a lasting mark on her family and the Sheridan community that she had already fallen in love with on her second visit from Australia to see her daughter, Kate Gladdin, and her son-in-law. 
Dozens of Kate Gladdin's friends and community members held a memorial for Julie Fitzsimon's in downtown Sheridan on the corner where days earlier she was struck and killed by a distracted driver on May 28, 2025. 
Dozens of Kate Gladdin's friends and community members held a memorial for Julie Fitzsimon's in downtown Sheridan on the corner where days earlier she was struck and killed by a distracted driver on May 28, 2025.
‘Only Deeper Grief’
Gladdin and Vince felt their impact statements during the hearing largely fell on deaf ears, and they expressed their thoughts in a statement to Cowboy State Daily.
Vince, in particular, feels his words were taken out of context by Bunting’s comments in her closing statement.
"In the closing remarks at the end of the sentencing, I was quoted as saying there is no penalty that will compensate our family for our loss,” he said. “That is true. But the request that came after it was left out.
“My statement asked the court to 'impose the maximum penalty possible against this perpetrator, both for his deep and extensive record, that he abused his grant of parole when he killed my wife, and to make an example to other drivers that they must respect, be cautious and aware of pedestrians.’
He concluded that, “Life is too precious to be cavalier about the safety of others.”
Taking him out of context implies that the sentence did not matter to the family. It did, he clarified.
Gladdin said that the 60-day sentence does not bring them comfort, only “deeper grief.”
“She lived by the rules and was killed by a man with a long history of breaking them, right up to the moment he killed her,” she said.
Kate Gladdin cries during a memorial for her mother. 
Kate Gladdin and husband, Nate, pose with her parents Julie and Vince Fitzsimons at their home in Sheridan. It was the Australian couple's second trip to Wyoming during which Julie was struck and killed by a driver in downtown Sheridan.
Hopes To Close Gaps In Law
Gladdin and her family are using their experience as an opportunity to change what they consider to be gaps in Wyoming laws when it comes to charging vehicular manslaughter as a misdemeanor.
The Legislature’s Joint Judiciary Committee voted unanimously in May to ask the Legislative Service Office draft perfunctory legislation based on the points raised to discuss at their next committee meeting in Casper on Aug. 10-11.
This includes amending distracted driving to include texting or phone use that results in deaths, driving on a suspended or revoked license, fleeing law enforcement that leads to a fatality and to consider repeat traffic offenses such as prior reckless driving convictions for those who kill a person while behind the wheel.
Gladdin said she feels like strengthening the laws will hopefully prevent other families from experiencing similar tragedies.
“We are left to wonder how this can be what the court called a teaching and learning moment for everybody, when the perpetrator once again avoids any real accountability for his crimes,” she wrote in her statement. “This time for killing a beloved wife and mother- and shattering our family forever.
Johnson’s attorney, Anna Malmberg with the Sheridan County Public Defender’s Office, did not respond to a request for comment by the time this story was published.
Jen Kocher can be reached at jen@cowboystatedaily.com.
