WARREN - A Warren man who pled guilty to his involvement in a 2025 hit-and-run crash that killed a retired Newton Falls teacher has learned his fate on Wednesday.

Wayne Keeley, 63, was sentenced to four years in prison followed by five years of probation on third-degree felony charges of aggravated vehicular homicide and failure to stop after an accident, as well as a misdemeanor count of vehicular manslaughter.

His driver's license was also suspended.

The charges follow an October incident in Niles, during which investigators say Keeley drove his pickup truck off the road near Indiana Avenue and through a residential backyard.

The vehicle struck 67-year-old Brenda Hibbard while she was on the property. Hibbard, who had retired from teaching in Newton Falls in 2023, later died from her injuries at a hospital.

Police arrested Keeley after finding his pickup truck in a local shopping plaza two days after the crash. According to investigators, Keeley told officers he had fallen asleep at the wheel while driving home from work and left the scene because he panicked.

Before sentencing, Keeley addressed the courtroom.

“I’m very sorry for what I’ve done,” Keeley said. “I ask for forgiveness. I’m sorry for the family. I’m sorry for the death of Brenda. It was a tragic accident. I’m sorry for everything I’ve done.”

Family members and friends of Hibbard then delivered emotional victim impact statements, describing a woman whose life was defined by service, faith, and love for others.

“My sister, Brenda Sue Hibbard, was a strong, beautiful, loving person,” a family member told the court. “This should never have happened by your actions that night, Mr. Keeley. You took away a mother, a grandmother, a sister, an aunt, a cousin, and a friend to many.”

The statement detailed Hibbard’s life as a devoted mother and grandmother, a longtime educator in Newton Falls, and a breast cancer survivor who continued to give back even after retirement.

“She worked all her life, then retired only to be hit by you in her yard and left to die,” the family member said. “She was a true woman of faith. She was our sister. We love her and we miss her.”

A statement was also read on behalf of Hibbard’s best friend of decades, Linda McIntosh.

“Brenda was my best friend." I don’t believe it was Brenda’s time. Her life was cut short by the reckless and irresponsible actions of Wayne Keeley.”

McIntosh said Hibbard spent nearly 30 years as a dedicated teacher, touching the lives of thousands of children, and later volunteered countless hours at an animal shelter often doing the hardest jobs.

“She deserved a retirement filled with trips and time with her grandchildren,” the statement said. “Everything was gone in an instant.”

In issuing the sentence, Judge Sean O’Brien acknowledged that Keeley had no prior criminal record, but emphasized the severity of his actions that night.

“You took the life of a model citizen someone who loved and cared about her community,” O’Brien said. “You didn’t stop. You caused so much commotion that she came outside to see what was happening, and you still didn’t stop.”

The judge noted that Keeley struck multiple objects, including a storage shed, before hitting Hibbard and leaving the scene.

“Based on your actions from that night, I feel the appropriate sentence is to go along with what the prosecutor recommended,” O’Brien said.

Keeley will begin serving his prison sentence immediately.

For Hibbard’s family and friends, the sentence offers accountability but not closure.

“That October night,” her family said, “a mother, a grandmother, a sister, an aunt, a cousin, and a friend died by your actions.”