Man gets 6 months

for 2010 fatal crash

NEWPORT — A 21-year-old Vermont man has begun serving a six-month sentence for being behind the wheel in a high-speed crash that killed his best friend two years ago.

Raymond Santaw of Derby was sentenced last week to three to 15 years, with six months to serve, on three counts of gross negligent operation.

Prosecutors said Santaw was driving at speeds up to 100 mph on Route 100 in Troy in the early morning hours of Aug. 29, 2010, when his car skidded and flipped several times, killing 24-year-old Jamie Hisman of Troy. Santaw and three other passengers were injured.

Hisman’s family had originally approved the sentence, but family members changed their mind during the sentencing hearing and argued for a longer sentence.