A 60-year-old man has been sentenced in connection with a motorcycle crash that claimed the life of his girlfriend in 2016 at the intersection of County Road 466 and Rolling Acres Road.
Diane Lanthier, 58, of Clermont, died as a result of the May 14, 2016 accident. She had been a passenger on a Harley-Davidson tricycle driven by her live-in boyfriend, Bryan Barnash.
Lanthier and Barnash were airlifted from the scene to Ocala Regional Medical Center. Neither of them had been wearing helmets. She died days later from injuries suffered in the crash. Blood tests revealed Barnash’s blood alcohol level had been .159 on the night of the accident.
Barnash, who also was seriously injured, was later arrested on a charge of DUI manslaughter.
In a 2017 deposition, Barnash claimed he had consumed two beers at his cousin’s vacation rental in The Villages, hours before the accident.
Barnash was sentenced to four years in prison on Monday in Lake County Court. After his release he will serve six years probation. Barnash, a truck driver, will have his driver’s license revoked for the rest of his life. Immediately after the sentencing, he was booked at the Lake County Jail, prior to the transfer of his custody to the Florida Department of Corrections.
Lanthier had been employed by Hunton Brady Architects PA and was covered under the company’s group life insurance through Sun Life. She had designated Barnash as her sole primary beneficiary and had named her mother as her sole secondary beneficiary in the event Barnash predeceased her.
Barnash submitted a claim on June 1, 2016 seeking the life insurance payout. On June 9, 2016, he was charged in Lanthier’s death. Her mother subsequently challenged Barnash’s entitlement to the benefit due to his role in her daughter’s death.
