Dubuque Man To Be Resentenced For Fatal Crash

The Iowa Court of Appeals has ordered that a Dubuque man be resentenced for a 2019 crash that killed a woman and her unborn child. 72 year old John Hoffman previously was sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty in Iowa District Court of Dubuque County to charges of homicide by vehicle, nonconsensual termination of a human pregnancy and serious injury by vehicle. Hoffman filed a notice of appeal for his sentence in August, arguing that his guilty plea was entered on the condition that he would be sentenced to 25 years in prison. Nonoral arguments were submitted to the Court of Appeals on January 10th. The appeals court’s opinion, filed Wednesday, vacated the 40-year sentence and remanded the case for resentencing. 20 year old Hannah Ruggeberg of Bellevue died in the crash on November 9th, 2019 along with her unborn son.  The crash also seriously injured a 3-year-old passenger.