TRAVERSE CITY — The Imlay City man facing five reckless driving counts, including one for the May 3, 2024, death of Samuel DeKuiper, accepted a plea bargain Thursday.
Nicholas Schram, 27, pleaded guilty to two counts of reckless driving causing serious injury and verbally acknowledged that his recklessness resulted in DeKuiper’s death.
Three other counts were dismissed as part of the deal, including two additional counts of reckless driving causing serious injury and one count of reckless driving causing death.
Nearly 100 people gathered to watch the proceedings in 13th Circuit Court before Judge Charles Hamlyn. Some observers had to stand or watch a video feed from an overflow area; many were wearing lanyards showing photos of Sam DeKuiper and the words: “Live like Sam,” in support of the DeKuiper family.
Hamlyn accepted Schram’s guilty pleas in which the maximum sentence he could face is five years in jail or prison for each count, but those terms would be served concurrently. The maximum sentence for reckless driving causing death is up to 15 years in prison.
However, Michigan has a rule that limits the amount of time of incarceration to two-thirds the maximum sentence to ensure that, when released, individuals are still under supervision, according to Grand Traverse County Prosecutor Noelle Moeggenberg.
Moeggenberg said the plea bargain was formulated after she spoke with other attorneys and examined the case “for a long time.”
Some of the important factors the prosecutor said she considered were that this crime was not premeditated; there were no drugs or alcohol involved; and Schram has no prior criminal history.
It was a tough case, Moeggenberg said, mentioning that the grief-stricken family did not support this plea bargain. “I don’t think that there was ever anything I could do for the (DeKuiper) family that was going to be enough, because nothing brings their son back.”
Moeggenberg said there is risk in going to trial, and so “if you can obtain the punishment, the level of supervision, the penalty that you’re looking for without going to trial, then that’s a good thing.”
The state puts the responsibility on the prosecutor to decide the charges because there are some victims who wouldn’t want to press charges against loved ones, Moeggenberg said, while, for others, no amount of punishment would be enough.
“I know that they were not happy with it, but again, I have to do what I believe is right in the case,” Moeggenberg said.
Court records show that the plea bargain was originally offered in October 2024.
Schram’s lawyer, Elias Muawad of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., said that the decision to accept it occurred in the last week and a half.
Muawad said they were waiting on reports from their own accident investigators before making any decisions.
“It’s a little complicated, but you have to do your due diligence first,” Muawad said.
Muawad said Schram is “extremely remorseful,” saying that “he understands that a young man died and it’s more traumatic for the deceased’s family.”
During the hearing, Muawad walked Schram through the events of May 3, 2024, and how his “willful and wanton” disregard for safety led to the injuries sustained by two of the passengers in his truck that day.
Schram was the driver of the truck that crashed head-on into a Ford Taurus sedan driven by the 22-year-old DeKuiper of Traverse City. The collision occurred just before 4:30 p.m. in Mayfield Township on County Road 633 in a no-passing zone.
A witness saw Schram’s red truck traveling north attempting to pass a vehicle in a no-passing zone when it hit the sedan head-on and ended up in a ditch on fire, the police record states. The fire nearly obliterated the front part of the vehicle.
DeKuiper was the only occupant of the sedan, which spun around before going into the ditch. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
When it came time for Schram to admit in court Thursday that his actions caused the death of DeKuiper, he began to cry before he stated, “Yes.”
During the sentencing, scheduled for 2 p.m. May 16 in Hamlyn’s court, Schram and members of the DeKuiper family will have an opportunity to address the court for the record.