Colten Bills, 21, of Dayton, received the sentence Monday morning in Webster County District Court.

He was convicted last month of two counts of homicide by vehicle by reckless driving, both Class C felonies.

Bills ran a stop sign at the intersection of Iowa Highway 75 and Samson Avenue on May 8, 2015, colliding with a car that was carrying David Castenson, 56, of Harcourt, and his mother, Velma Castenson, 85, of Dayton.

Both died in the collision.

-Messenger photo by Peter Kaspari Kristi Castenson, widow of David Castenson and daughter-in-law of Velma Castenson, reads from her victim impact statement during Colten Bills’ sentencing in Webster County District Court Monday.

Chief District Court Judge Kurt Wilke ruled the evidence showed that Bills was texting at the time of the crash.

Before sentencing, Bills spoke directly to the Castenson family and made a tearful apology.

“I’m so ashamed about what I did,” Bills said. “I just want to say I’m sorry. This accident was my fault, through and through, 100 percent.”

He went on to say that he has never denied crashing into the Castenson’s car.

“I will never deny that, I have not denied that since the day of the accident,” Bills said.

-Messenger photo by Peter Kaspari Renee Sedlacek, daughter of David Castenson and granddaughter of Velma Castenson, testifies in Webster County District Court about how their deaths have impacted her life and those of her siblings.

He told the Castensons that he wished the crash had never happened.

“I don’t ask for your forgiveness,” he said. “I don’t deserve it. I never will.”

“I am really, truly sorry,” Bills continued. “I really am sorry.”

Wilke had the option of sentencing Bills to prison for up to 20 years or giving him probation.

The judge said he had to consider many factors in making his decision.

-Messenger photo by Peter Kaspari Colten Bills apologizes to the family of David Castenson and Velma Castenson.

“What separates this case from most criminal cases is the issue of intent,” Wilke said. “I have to balance between this horrible, horrible tragedy that has taken place and ruined the lives of so many people, and also the fact of a young man and his rehabilitation.”

One of the goals of sentencing is to rehabilitate the defendant.

“There is no malicious part of this case,” Wilke added. “It’s a very unfortunate circumstance that happened. It was a great degree of foolishness, recklessness.”

Although Bills was spared a prison sentence, Wilke cautioned him that he needs to follow the rules of his probation officer for the next four years.

One of those rules is prohibition of cell phone usage.

-Messenger photo by Peter Kaspari The Rev. Kay.Christie, of Dayton and Harcourt United Methodist churches, testifies in support of Colten Bills during his sentencing hearing in Webster County District Court Monday. Christie said Bills has been an asset to the church and is sponsor to two in her confirmation class.

“You are not to use a phone for any purpose while you’re operating a motor vehicle,” Wilke told Bills. “A violation of that provision will be considered a violation of probation and the sentence of 20 years will be handed out. Do you understand that?”

“Yes, sir,” Bills replied.

Prior to his sentencing, Bills listened as nine victim impact statements from the Castenson family were read aloud in court. Some of the statements were read by the people who wrote them, while others were read by advocates or other relatives.

Kristi Castenson, David Castenson’s wife and Velma Castenson’s daughter-in-law, gave emotional testimony about how her life has changed since her husband died.

She described waiting in a room in the hospital for news of her husband when Dr. Dan Cole, the medical director of the emergency department at Trinity, came into the room.

“And he said those words, they tried everything,” Castenson said. “And I just remember collapsing and I never heard another word.”

She said she and her husband were married for 28 years and had dated for three years prior to their marriage.

“You will never know the void I have in my heart and in my life,” Castenson said. “He was the one that, when I needed advice, I asked him. He helped me make decisions with school. A lot of my decisions with school and athletics were Dave’s decisions. He was my partner and friend, my lifeline and my husband.”

She said she’s thankful her two youngest children, Curt Castenson, who is in college, and Morgan Castenson, who is in high school, got to see their dad one final time before he died. The day before the crash, she said her son came home from college and he played catch with his father.

The morning of the crash, her husband drove their daughter to school.

“I think of those two events and how thankful I am that those kids got to have those last great moments with their dad,” Kristi Castenson said.

Renee Sedlacek, one of the Castenson’s four children, testified about the impact the deaths had on her and her three siblings.

Just three months before the crash that killed her father and grandmother, Sedlacek said she had gotten engaged, in what she described as “the best day of my life.”

“I thought that 2015 was going to be the best year yet, and that quickly changed on May 8,” she said. “May 8 was the day we lost two of the most loving and selfless people to walk on this earth.”

The day of the crash was an emotional one.

“All the emotions and horrific events were caused because Colten Bills decided to text and drive and killed our loving dad and grandma,” Sedlacek said. “It’s hard for me to sit here and read this impact statement for my impact because in reality, I hurt seeing my family hurt.”

She said at the time of the crash, her older sister, Kelsey Wolfe, was pregnant. It would have been her father’s first grandchild.

“He was so excited for John and Kelsey and could not wait to be a grandpa,” Sedlacek said of her father. “Grandpa Dave has such a sweet ring to it.”

Her brother was just about to finish his first year at college.

“My heart breaks knowing Dad will not be at Curt’s senior night in college for baseball,” Sedlacek said. “He won’t be able to watch Curt walk across the stage at graduation. Dad won’t be there to see him get married and Dad won’t be there for any of Curt’s kids, either.”

Her youngest sister was only 14 when her father died.

She said her sister and father would play softball together.

“Dad would catch for Morgan as she pitched and would always offer great advice to her,” Sedlacek said. “My heart breaks into pieces knowing Dad won’t be at any more of her games, not at her high school or college graduation, not be able to walk her down the aisle at her wedding, not being able to meet her kids someday. Fourteen years old without a dad.”

Sedlacek said she talked to her father every day, and sometimes still finds herself dialing his number on her phone.

“I miss our conversations, his goofy voice, his loving self, his orange shoelaces, his coming down the stairs in the morning to Fox News,” Sedlacek said. “Watching him heat his coffee in the microwave for 1 minute, 11 seconds and his understating self.”

The defense called the Rev. Kay Christie, pastor at Dayton and Harcourt United Methodist churches, to speak in support of Bills.

Under questioning from Derek Johnson, one of Bills’ attorneys, Christie said Bills has struggled with the aftermath of the crash.

“I know that he has gone on with life and tried to take care of things,” Christie said. “But in private moments, he has broken down and cried, stating that all he wanted to do was apologize to the family.”

She went on to say that Bills is an asset to the church, specifically with sponsoring two people in Christie’s confirmation class.

Christie said Bills brings “so much positivity to the classes. He has attended almost every class.”

Following the sentencing hearing, Johnson said the sentencing was “fair.”

“I know that people focus on the loss of two lives, which was tragic. However, there’s nothing malicious or anything intentionally evil about this case,” Johnson said. “I met Colten right after the accident, and at that time he was waking up in the middle of the night crying, seeking mental health services, was having a real hard time struggling with what had happened.”

Webster County Attorney Jennifer Benson said she was disappointed with the sentencing.

“We felt that prison was appropriate, not only because two lives were lost as a result of the defendant’s reckless and senseless actions, but the other reason we felt it was appropriate was for the purpose of deterrents,” Benson said. “We want to show the community that deadly consequences can come from texting and driving and we thought prison was appropriate to send that message.”

At the same time, Benson said this means the case has come to a close.

“But we are glad that this will hopefully bring closure to the families,” she said. “We’ve been working with them for almost two years and I’m hoping that this will help them move on.”