Woman gets 12 years in prison for DUI, killing Naples bicyclist

A drunken driver who killed a Naples cyclist more than two years ago was sentenced Tuesday to 12 years in prison.

A jury convicted Jacqueline Ribes, 60, of DUI manslaughter in November and found her guilty of driving while intoxicated on Gulf Shore Boulevard in late 2014.

Ribes was accused of swerving and then hitting Werner Gattinger, 67, who was riding his bike on the side of the road. Gattinger died in a hospital a month later after numerous surgeries and a drug-induced coma.

On Tuesday, after an emotional hearing a day earlier with testimony from Gattinger's family and Ribes' friends and husband, Collier County Circuit Court Judge Frederick Hardt handed down a 12-year sentence, almost midway between the minimum of 10 years and maximum of 15.

Related: Sentencing to wait a day for woman who killed Naples cyclist in DUI

"Obviously, this is a tragic case," Hardt said moments before his ruling Tuesday. "Everyone loses in this case. There's no winner, no matter what evidence. ... I'm sure Ms. Ribes didn't intend to hurt him. (...) But she did take the drinks, and she did get behind the wheel."

Ribes had no prior run-ins with the law or convictions and appears to be "an outstanding citizen," but her actions cut Gattinger's life short, Hardt said.

"We have a gentleman who was not ready to go," he said. "He looks like he was very fit and still kayaking and climbing mountains and enjoying life. ...

"Then he had to suffer for more than a month, lying in the hospital with his gut open. That must've been horrible for him and his family."

Ribes, dressed in an orange jumpsuit and sitting beside her attorney Joseph Davidow, sobbed as she listened to Hardt.

Davidow said after the hearing that he would be filing a notice of appeal. An appeal could take seven months to a year to play out, he said.

Related: Collier County woman found guilty of DUI manslaughter in Naples cyclist's death

Among those in attendance Tuesday was Gattinger's second wife, Ann Hoffmann, who was emotional after the sentencing.

"It's been a long, drawn-out, torturous 2½ years almost," she said, fighting back tears. "It's been hard."

Related: East Naples woman charged with DUI manslaughter after biker dies

Hoffmann had been with Gattinger for a decade and married to him for 2½ years.

"It's been surreal," she said of losing him. "I don't want to really think about it too much because it hurts too much."

Friends and family described Gattinger as a loving father and grandfather, an adventurous outdoorsman and passionate photographer. He had come to the United States from Austria in his early 20s and remained active until his death, kayaking and riding his bicycle around town.

It's what Hoffmann, 68, remembers of him, too.

"That life that he loved so much, being hiking and being with nature," she said. "The love that he had for his children. I mean, he was a mother and a father to his children. I remember his daughter saying, 'He used to braid my hair for school.' You know, he was the cook. He just did it all.

"I didn't know him as long as, of course, his ex-wife and his children, but I'm glad I had that time with him."