Bryan Buhl was sentenced to 19 years in prison for a collision with motorcyclist John Bolin, which resulted in Bolin’s death
VISALIA – After three prior convictions for drunk driving, Bryan Buhl committed his fourth in 2020, which resulted in a fatal car collision with victim John Bolin.
On Jan. 24, Buhl, 45, was sentenced to 19 years in state prison for a DUI crash that took the life of motorcyclist Bolin, 55. The incident occurred in 2020, just a year before a prior DUI conviction from Buhl. Buhl has prior DUI convictions from 1997, 2014 and 2019.
Bryan Buhl, age 45
“Mr. Bolin was a beloved member of his family and this community,” prosecutor Noell Niayesh said in a statement. “His family and friends never lost sight of justice, and we thank them for their patience and support.”
On July 2nd, 2020, at 8:30 p.m. Buhl was driving his van on Caldwell near West Street in Visalia, but failed to see the victim who was on a Harley Davidson motorcycle. Buhl made a U-turn in front of the victim and caused a collision that resulted in Bolin’s death. Buhl’s BAC at the time was .23%.
On Dec. 20 of last year, with the support of the victim’s family, prosecutors accepted Buhl’s plea of no contest to gross vehicular manslaughter DUI with gross negligence and assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury. With a no contest plea, Buhl agreed to the conviction for the crime, however, did not admit to being guilty when entering the plea.
