Rigby man sentenced for traffic death
A Rigby man was sentenced in Lincoln County District Court in Afton, Wyoming on a single count of Aggravated Homicide by Vehicle. Ethan Jackson was sentenced to serve 5 to 10 years with the Wyoming Department of Corrections.
Jackson was taken into custody immediately after the hearing before Judge Joseph B. Bluemel Wednesday.
Lincoln County Attorney Spencer Allred said Jackson was charged after a July 2017 traffic crash on U.S. Highway 89 in the Snake River Canyon. He said Jackson’s pickup crossed into the oncoming lane of traffic and struck a second vehicle driven by Terry Sullivan of Oregon head-on.
Ryan Coulter of Idaho Falls was a passenger in Jackson’s pickup and died of injuries sustained in the crash.
Sullivan was treated and released at Star Valley Medical Center. Jackson was not hurt in the crash.
Allred said Jackson’s blood tested positive for methamphetamine after the crash. He later admitted to investigators that he had smoked meth earlier that day.
Chief Deputy County Attorney Blaine Nelson told the Court during Wednesday’s sentencing hearing that Jackson presented a serious danger to his passenger and all other motorists on the road that day and deserved a substantial prison sentence.
