Driver Guilty in 6 Teenagers’ Deaths

A jury Friday convicted a driver in the deaths of six teenagers on a county work crew under a new Nevada law that prohibits driving with illegal drugs in one’s blood--even if the driver is not impaired.

Because prosecutors were unable to prove that Jessica Williams had been under the influence of drugs, the only other options for jurors were to acquit the driver or to convict her of involuntary manslaughter or reckless driving--charges carrying lighter sentences.

Defense attorney John Watkins, whose client now faces as much as 120 years in prison, said he will challenge the constitutionality of the law, which Nevada legislators adopted two years ago.

But more immediately, Watkins said, he will ask the trial judge next week to throw out the conviction because blood samples were not refrigerated after testing for drugs, which meant the blood was not properly preserved for retesting months later by the defense.

Williams, a 21-year-old dancer, had been awake for 24 hours when, on March 19, 2000, her vehicle plowed into the youngsters. According to testimony, she got off work at a local topless club and, with a co-worker, took Ecstasy and smoked marijuana in the desert. The tragedy occurred on her drive home.

The trial was emotionally wrenching, with jurors--and victims’ families--shown graphic photographs of the carnage.

Williams did not testify. Her attorney argued that, even though she had taken drugs, she had not been impaired by them and had simply fallen asleep at the wheel.

The jury apparently agreed. Jurors declined to convict Williams on charges of involuntary manslaughter, reckless driving or even driving under the influence of a controlled substance. But they did find her guilty of one count for each victim of driving with an illegal drug in her blood--a felony in cases resulting in death. A sentencing hearing is set March 30.

The sentencing range for the new law is two to 20 years for each count. Involuntary manslaughter convictions carry a range of one to four years; reckless driving, one to six years.

California has no similar law, and allows conviction only if the driver is proved to be impaired. Proving drugs were present in the blood is not enough.

The jury also convicted Williams of two lesser marijuana charges unrelated to driving. Because they were first-time convictions for Williams, she will receive probation on those counts, prosecutors said.

The question of whether the county should be held responsible for allowing teenagers to work in a freeway median, about 15 feet from speeding traffic, remains unresolved. The families have filed civil wrongful-death lawsuits, saying the county is culpable in their children’s deaths.

After the accident, the county quickly stopped using teenagers on freeway work crews.

The six teenagers were working off convictions for minor juvenile offenses by serving on the freeway cleanup crew. Five died at the scene and the sixth died the next day.

Both sides in the case claimed victory with the decision of the jurors--who left the courthouse under guard without comment.

“If you use drugs and you drive, you’ll go to prison,” said Clark County Deputy Dist. Atty. Bruce Nelson, who prosecuted the case. “Now it’s time for her to pay for her crime.”

Watkins said he was elated by the jury’s verdict, because conviction on charges of reckless driving or involuntary manslaughter--even though they carry less prison time--would have left him with fewer grounds for appeal.

Williams, who had shown little emotion in the jury’s presence, offered a barely noticeable smile as the verdict was read.

Outside the courthouse, relatives of the victims said they were pleased with the verdicts.

“I’m very satisfied,” said Dale Booth, who lost his 16-year-old daughter, Jennifer. “She massacred six young people . . . and [after the accident] not once did she go over to help my daughter. She just stood there and smoked a cigarette.”

Defense attorney Watkins told reporters: “Those young children, if they could come down and stand at this podium, would say, ‘Let Jessica go. It wasn’t Jessica who caused our deaths.’ It was the county who put them in that situation.”