A man pleaded guilty to a hit-and-run accident that left a motorcyclist dead and his wife seriously injured, officials said Friday.
Jason Wooton of Mumford, Ala., pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide, serious injury by motor vehicle and possession of methamphetamine, according to a release from the Douglas County District Attorney Office.
Wooten was driving more than 100 miles per hour along I-20 when he collided with Steven Rose's motorcycle in August 2015, according to the release. The force of the impact threw the couple, who were wearing helmets, from the motorcycle onto the highway.
Stephen Rose died on the highway from blunt for trauma to the head and bleeding to the brain.
Crystal Rose skidded nearly 200 feet down I-20 before crawling off the road and getting struck by another car, according to the release. Rose suffered a broken vertebrae, finger and wrist with extensive injuries to her legs.
Wooten left the crash scene, but Douglasville police caught him near Arbor Place Mall.
Officers found methamphetamine in Wooten’s car and in his blood, according to the release. A witness told police they smoked the drug with Wooten earlier that night.
Judge William H. McClain said Wooten’s actions devastated a family.
“A husband and father is dead, a mother was traumatized and seriously injured, and two children are left without a dad,” McClain said.
Wooten had been convicted of DUI twice before the 2015 crash and had a device on the ignition that prevented the car from starting if Wooten had alcohol on his breath, according to the release.
District Attorney Brian Fortner said Wooten made the choice to drive under the influence of drugs and “put the life of every single person on the roadway that night at risk.”
Wooten was sentenced to 30 years, with 18 years to be served in prison.
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