Driver Who Caused March 2017 Church Bus Crash That Killed 13 Passengers is Sentenced to 55 Years in Prison

Jack Dillon Young the driver of the pickup truck pictured in this March 31, 2017 file photo provided by National Transportation Safety Board, was sentenced to 55 years in prison on Friday. Young killed 13 people in the crash on March 29, 2017 near Garner State Park in Texas.
Jennifer Morrison/AP

The driver of a pickup truck that slammed into a church bus in March 2017, killing 13 passengers, was sentenced to 55 years in prison on Friday.

Jack Dillon Young had smoked marijuana and misused a prescription antidepressant, prior to the head-on collision with the bus that was carrying choir members from the First Baptist Church in New Braunfels, Texas, MySanAntonio.com reported. The fatal accident happened about 75 miles west of San Antonio.

The 21-year-old’s defense attorney called for mercy from the judge and said Young’s prescription drug medications were not properly monitored by doctors, according to The Associated Press.

The church choir was returning from a retreat in Leakey, where Young lived at the time. The only passenger who survived was sitting farthest from the point of impact.

Young and members of his family testified during the three-day sentencing hearing.

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SOURCE: NPR, Vanessa Romo