Bienfait woman pleads guilty in deadly drunk driving crash

A woman from Bienfait has admitted to being drunk behind the wheel last summer when she hit a cab, killing the driver.

Bisho Kalappurakkal, 35, died on June 24, 2017, when the taxi he was driving was hit shortly after leaving Bienfait by an SUV driven by Debra Hamman, then 59.

Hamman pleaded guilty this week to charges of driving with a blood alcohol level over .08 causing death and driving with a blood alcohol level over .08 causing bodily harm.

Dylan Jonas, 27, was riding in Kalappurakkal’s cab at the time of the crash. He walked away with minor injuries.

Speaking a few days after the crash, Dylan’s father Dennis said he didn’t think Hamman would get a severe enough punishment.

“I’m sick and tired of drunk drivers,” he said. “It’s like them driving and having a 4,000-pound weapon and they can kill people and nothing will happen.”

Hamman will be sentenced in February.