Traverse City Man Gets 6 to 15 Years in Fatal DUI Crash

Kenneth Edward Marotzke, 71, of Traverse City will serve at least six years in prison after a Leelanau County judge ordered him to serve six to 15 years for killing Ronald Leo Bellman in a drunk driving crash on M-22 last September.

Marotzke was sentenced Monday in 13th Circuit Court in Suttons Bay, where dozens of Bellman family members who had traveled across the country filled the courtroom to deliver impact statements. Mary Bellman, Ronald's wife, spoke during the hearing while supported by her sons Patrick, Michael, and Daniel. Patrick Bellman also addressed the court separately, speaking about his father while standing with his brother Daniel.

Investigators said Marotzke crossed the center line on M-22 at Crain Hill Road the morning of September 10, colliding with an SUV driven by Ronald Bellman, 61, of Ohio. Bellman was killed in the crash. Three passengers in his vehicle were treated for injuries, including Mary Bellman. The portion of M-22 near Crain Hill Road was shut down for about seven hours following the collision.

Ronald and Mary Bellman were in northern Michigan serving as volunteer lighthouse keepers at Mission Point Lighthouse on Old Mission Peninsula at the time of the crash.

Marotzke pleaded no contest to one count of operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death and one count of operating a vehicle under the influence of liquor causing serious injury. A no-contest plea does not admit guilt but is treated as a guilty plea at sentencing. As part of his plea agreement, two additional charges were to be dismissed at sentencing. Marotzke stood with defense attorney Patrick Fragel as the sentence was handed down.

The six-to-15-year sentence reflects the severity of a crash that took one life, injured three others, and brought an Ohio family's repeated drives up to northern Michigan to an abrupt and permanent end.