Jason Alan Humphreys had a clean record - no trouble with the law - until he made the mistake of driving drunk in January 2005 and killing a pregnant woman, prosecutors said.The 33-year-old Diamondhead man will serve 10 years in prison for choosing to drive impaired while returning home from a Mardi Gras parade in Waveland. The crash claimed the life of 22-year-old Jaimee Hart Anderson, who was five months pregnant.Harrison County Circuit Court Judge Roger Clark sentenced Humphreys on Thursday to 20 years and suspended 10 years, leaving 10 to serve. He faced a maximum of 25 years. The victim's family was willing to accept Humphreys' guilty plea, entered July 29, said Assistant District Attorney Joel Smith. Humphreys wanted sentencing delayed so his family and friends could be present.
"He was just an average guy with a family and a job when he made that bad decision, thinking he was sober enough to drive," said Assistant District Attorney Charlie Wood.At the time Humphreys was the manager of the Sonic Drive-In restaurant in Waveland.Anderson, whose husband had recently deployed for military service in Iraq, and her mother were returning home from Wal-Mart. They were on Edwin Ladner Road near Vidalia Road outside Pass Christian when Humphreys lost control of his vehicle.Humphreys, his wife in the car with him, swerved off on the shoulder of the road and overcompensated. His car crossed the road and turned sideways in the women's lane, striking their vehicle, prosecutors said. His blood-alcohol level was 0.12. The state's legal limit is 0.10.Humphreys was charged with only one count of DUI causing death. Prosecutors said laws in effect at the time didn't consider a fetus a life.Anderson's mother, who was driving the other car, was seriously injured in the crash.Anderson's husband and the couple's other child moved to Texas after the wreck.
"He was just an average guy with a family and a job when he made that bad decision, thinking he was sober enough to drive," said Assistant District Attorney Charlie Wood.At the time Humphreys was the manager of the Sonic Drive-In restaurant in Waveland.Anderson, whose husband had recently deployed for military service in Iraq, and her mother were returning home from Wal-Mart. They were on Edwin Ladner Road near Vidalia Road outside Pass Christian when Humphreys lost control of his vehicle.Humphreys, his wife in the car with him, swerved off on the shoulder of the road and overcompensated. His car crossed the road and turned sideways in the women's lane, striking their vehicle, prosecutors said. His blood-alcohol level was 0.12. The state's legal limit is 0.10.Humphreys was charged with only one count of DUI causing death. Prosecutors said laws in effect at the time didn't consider a fetus a life.Anderson's mother, who was driving the other car, was seriously injured in the crash.Anderson's husband and the couple's other child moved to Texas after the wreck.
