DALTON, Ga. — A Crandall man has pleaded guilty to two counts of vehicular homicide while driving drunk in the 2016 deaths of a husband and wife who were going home from church after colliding head on with the couple’s motorcycle.

Superior Court Judge William Boyett sentenced Gary Robert Cooper, 60, to 15 years in prison with 15 years of probation, in addition to fines, court costs and 200 hours of community service upon his release. He must also undergo alcohol and substance abuse counseling and is not allowed to drive or control a moving vehicle during his sentence.

District Attorney Bert Poston said in a press release that state guidelines for a vehicular homicide based on a DUI require that Copper serve between 65 and 90 percent of the sentence.

“Based on his prior history of DUIs, it is believed that he will serve 90 percent or 13.5 years before being considered for parole although no decision has yet been made by the Board (of Pardons and Paroles),” Poston said.

Cooper had four DUIs between 1984 and 1999 and two felony habitual traffic violator offenses in that time. At the time of the wreck, Cooper was driving while his license was revoked.

The wreck that claimed the lives of Wesley L. Cummings, 52, and Wanda F. Cummings, 49, was on April 17, 2016, on Dawnville Road. Authorities with the Georgia State Patrol said Cooper’s 1995 Mercury Grand Marquis crossed into the eastbound lane and collided head-on with the Cummings’ 2015 Harley-Davidson, killing the couple instantly.

Cooper told officers he was lighting a cigarette and crossed the center line. Tire marks near Piedmont Drive showed where Cooper’s vehicle went straight through the curve. The motorcycle and the Grand Marquis both ended up down an embankment on the south shoulder of the road in a flood plain near Coahulla Creek. Cooper suffered a broken pelvis.

Poston said Cooper smelled of alcohol and had a blood alcohol content of .092 — .08 is the legal limit in Georgia. Also, a blood test showed the presence of clonazepam in his system.

Poston said during the sentencing “family members of the victims were accompanied by Heather Brooks, a representative of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) in Georgia.”