A Greenwood man will spend five years in prison after driving twice the speed limit, causing a car crash that killed three people.
Connor Tomlinson, 21, pleaded guilty to three charges of reckless homicide in the fatal southside car crash that killed a mother, her daughter and another person just days before Christmas 2015.
Tomlinson was sentenced by a Marion County court to five years in prison, three years of home detention and six years of probation.
The investigation into the accident showed that Tomlinson rapidly accelerated his Ford Mustang while leaving the stoplight at South East Street near Interstate 465. His car fishtailed on wet pavement, hit the median and went airborne into the opposite lane, hitting a vehicle driven by Rogelio Legorreta, according to the probable cause affidavit.
All three people in the SUV — Rebeca Rodriguez-Gomez, her daughter Jasmine Aldai and Legorreta — were killed in the Dec. 23, 2015, crash.
“This senseless tragedy and the loss suffered by their families was the result of Mr. Tomlinson’s choice to engage in horribly reckless behavior,” Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry said in a news release. ”We are pleased that through this plea agreement he has been held accountable for that choice and hope that this sentence serves as a warning for others who would take such risks.”
Both Tomlinson and the driver of a Corvette next to him at the stoplight revved their engines prior to the light turning green as if they were going to race, witnesses told police.
An examination of car’s crash data found Tomlinson’s vehicle had accelerated to 81 mph before the collision; the speed limit on the road was 40 mph, according to the probable cause affidavit. The accelerator pedal was at 99 percent for four seconds before the crash.
The tread on two tires were worn down close to what the U.S. Department of Transportation considers to be questionable or unsafe, the probable cause affidavit said.
