Iowa State alumni and namesake for the Greenlee school Bob Greenlee has been convicted of criminally negligent homicide and three other counts following his involvement in a crash that killed a woman in Southern Colorado.

According to investigators, Greenlee, 76, was “improperly passing” a car going an estimated 22 miles over the speed limit when he struck an oncoming car. The accident, which happened Dec. 28, 2016, killed Patricia Lucero, 70, and critically injured Greenlee and his wife.

A year after the crash, Greenlee appeared in court and pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide, two counts of careless driving causing injury and reckless driving.

This was a part of a plea deal that dropped the charges of vehicular homicide, vehicular assault, speeding, reckless endangerment and improper passing on the left.

Prosecutor Ashley Fetyko said the plea was offered by the 12th District Attorney’s Office to spare the family a long trial rather than to question Greenlee’s fault in the case.

Fetyko asked that Greenlee be sentenced to prison based on the severity of the crash and she refused to call the incident a “car accident.”

The remaining charges could have incurred a punishment of up to three years in prison, but the defendant brought forward his physician who argued that any prison time would have led to Greenlee’s death considering his age and condition.

The judge sentenced Greenlee to one year of home detention, 10 years probation and 200 hours of community service instead of giving him prison time. In addition to this, Greenlee will be forced to pay $100,000 in fines and contribute $100,000 a year to a charity of the affected family’s choosing.

Greenlee graduated from Iowa State for both his bachelor’s and master’s. The Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication was named after him in 1998 following a large donation from himself to the college.

John McCarrol, executive director of university relations, said regarding the Greenlee case, “We understand that the court proceedings have concluded for Bob Greenlee regarding his role in a tragic motor vehicle accident that occurred in Colorado in December 2016. The accident resulted in the death of one driver and extensive injuries to Bob and his wife, Diane.

“Members of the Greenlee family are longtime supporters and donors to Iowa State University.  Nearly 20 years ago, Iowa State’s Department of Journalism and Mass Communication was renamed the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication because of the Greenlees’ generous support.

“We wish again to convey our sympathy and condolences to all those impacted by this tragedy.  Any decisions about how this impacts Iowa State University will not be made until we have had the opportunity to carefully consider and consult with important university constituents.”