A Reno man, Michael Todd, 52, has been convicted of drunk driving in Reno, Nevada, causing the death of a teenager in a Reno automobile accident. Mr. Todd received a sentence of 20-years in jail for the death of a high school student, 16. The accident happened on June 13th last year. The 16-year old, a boy, was riding his bicycle on Seneca Dr. before the Lemmon Valley car crash. The accident happened around 9:00 p.m. In addition to being intoxicated at the time of the crash, investigators determined that Mr. Todd was also speeding and lost control of his vehicle before veering into oncoming traffic and striking the 16-year old bicyclist.
At the scene of the Washoe County vehicle collision, police found a bottle of Jack Daniels that had been allegedly thrown away by Mr. Todd. Police also estimate that Mr. Todd’s blood alcohol level when the accident happened was 0.159. The teenager who was killed in the accident had just finished his sophomore year in high school.
Mr. Todd entered a guilty plea in the accident in July. He was sentenced in the Washoe County Courthouse by Judge Stiglich on August 21st. Mr. Todd will have parole eligibility after he has served 8 years of his prison sentence.
In the Silver State, drunk driving deaths amount to just over 30% of all traffic deaths. In 2012, 82 Nevadans died from accidents that included alcohol use. Of those 82 people, 9 were under 21 years of age. If you are convicted of a DUI death, you will could be subject to as short as two years in prison and a prison sentence as long as 20 years. That conviction will also cost you somewhere between $2,000 and $5,000 in fines. DUI penalties increase the more intoxicated you are. If your blood alcohol is as high as 0.15 your chances of being in an accident increase substantially.
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