WAUKESHA COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A Waukesha County man was sentenced Thursday, Feb. 19, for a deadly hit-and-run on Christmas Eve back in 2024. 

Forty-year-old Christopher Sponholz pleaded guilty in court Thursday and was sentenced to seven years in prison followed by 10 years of extended supervision. 

According to prosecutors, Sponholz hit 40-year-old Hussain Farhat, a Chicago-based tow truck driver, while Farhat was loading a vehicle onto his truck along I-94. Sponholz fled the scene, and the victim later died at an area hospital. 

Police spoke to a friend of Sponholz, according to court documents, who said Sponholz told him he thought he'd hit a deer. 

He later turned himself in at the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department. 

Farhat was honored in a Christmas day vigil following the crash, with more than 50 tow trucks displaying flashing lights as a tribute. 

Tow operators used the vigil to focus on the importance of slowing down or moving over for roadside workers.

CBS 58