Inset: Kyle Dahl (Coulee Region Cremation Group). Background: News footage of Todd Gieck during his sentencing (WEAU).
A Wisconsin man who shot another driver in the head for driving too slow has been sentenced to decades behind bars.
Todd Gieck, 64, was found guilty of first-degree reckless homicide after a trial in April, a year after he fatally shot 36-year-old Kyle Dahl during a road rage incident. As Law&Crime previously reported, Dahl was heading home from his family's farm in Ettrick, Wisconsin, on May 15, 2024, when he drove past Gieck at a slow speed. Gieck's passenger told police that Gieck was "on edge" that day, and became more agitated when he saw Dahl's vehicle drive by them at a slow pace. Gieck drove past Dahl, but Dahl later drove past Gieck again.
The witness told police that Gieck turned to him and said, "Watch this." Gieck then pulled out a gun and fired at Dahl's vehicle as they pulled up alongside it.
Despite what Gieck's passenger told police, Gieck maintained that the shooting was an accident, a story he reiterated during his sentencing hearing on Wednesday, which was covered by local NBC affiliate WEAU. Before Gieck received his sentence, he apologized to Dahl's family, which included Dahl's widow Brittany Dahl.
Brittany Dahl told the court, "The hardest thing I've ever had to do was tell our 6-year-old son that his dad wasn't coming home. How do you explain to a little boy that someone made the choice to shoot his dad while driving? How do you help your child understand that the person he looked up to, the person who made him feel safe, was taken from him in an act of unimaginable violence? There are no words that make that make sense."
Trempealeau County Judge Thomas Clark was not moved by Gieck's apology and rejected his story that the shooting was accidental. Before sentencing, Clark told Gieck, "Your actions were reckless to the extreme degree. They took the life of Kyle Dahl, and you have to be punished for that."
Gieck claimed during the hearing that he "got scared" during the incident. Surveillance video captured Gieck's red sedan following Dahl's vehicle and pulling up alongside it. Dahl's vehicle was found in a ditch, and police initially believed his death was caused by a crash. The fatal gunshot wound above his right eye was found later. Police arrested Gieck on May 30, 2024.
Gieck was found guilty of first-degree reckless homicide, discharging a firearm from a vehicle, and felony possession of a firearm, all with enhancements for repeat offenses. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison plus 20 years of supervised release.
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