Man Guilty in Crash With Slot Winner
A man was convicted Thursday in the drunken driving wreck that paralyzed the winner of the world’s largest slot machine jackpot and killed her sister.
The jury found Clark Morse guilty of felony driving under the influence, involuntary manslaughter, reckless driving and leaving the scene of the accident. Jurors had deliberated since Tuesday afternoon.
Just weeks before the March 11, 2000, crash, Cynthia Jay-Brennan won a record $35-million Megabucks jackpot.
“On one hand we’re happy that he was found guilty on all counts,” Jay-Brennan’s husband, Terry, said. “On the other, it’s a hollow victory because when we wake up tomorrow my wife is still paralyzed and her sister is still dead.”
Morse faces more than 150 years in prison when he is sentenced April 20. Defense attorneys argued that Morse, 58, is mentally disabled and has the mind of a third-grader.
But prosecutors said Morse knew drinking and driving was wrong and was intelligent enough to obtain a driver’s license and hold jobs.
Authorities said Morse’s blood-alcohol content was nearly twice the legal limit when the sport utility vehicle he was driving crashed into a car occupied by Jay-Brennan, 37, and her sister, Lela Anne Jay, 45.
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