McKINNEY — The driver in a collision that led to the deaths of a Plano family was sentenced to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
A Collin County jury found the Louisiana man guilty on all five counts of manslaughter in the deaths of a family headed home from Sunday morning church services more than two years ago.
After less than two and a half hours of deliberations, jurors decided that 48-year-old David Calhoun Jones recklessly caused their deaths and that his vehicle was a deadly weapon when it struck their minivan.
The wreck instantly killed Geoff Hart; his wife, Christy; and their 12-year-old daughter, Rebekah. The family's two foster children, Kevinnesha Palmer, 6; and Raven Lucas, 5; died later at area hospitals. All five suffered multiple blunt force injuries
"This wasn't an act of God," prosecutor Cindy Walker told the jury during closing statements. "This was an act by him."
Defense attorney Bill Booth countered that Jones was on his way to pick up his daughter and had no reason to drive recklessly.
"The evidence in this case shows you he did have control over his mind. What he didn't have control over was his car," Booth said, referring to Jones' testimony that the brakes on the car failed. "He took a defensive maneuver and drove in the grass."
Witnesses in the trial said they saw a black sedan speeding westbound on Legacy Drive in Plano and weaving in and out of traffic. Several vehicles were stacked up at a red light at Custer Road. The rented Pontiac G5 veered onto the curb next to the far right lane, struck a fire hydrant and went airborne. It crashed through a Ford Winstar minivan carrying the Hart family, crushed the top of a Chevy pickup and landed on its side in the grass near a corner gas station.
Police testified that the crash data recorder showed the Pontiac had its accelerator pushed to the floor. Its speed was recorded at 98 mph just before the air bags deployed.
The scene was horrific. Several witnesses said it looked like a bomb had gone off.
"This is the worst accident I've seen in 32 years, and I've seen a lot," veteran Plano Police Officer Steve Van Note testified this week.
Prosecutors also introduced testimony that Jones told doctors after the crash that he may have had seizures, one as recently as three weeks before the crash. But medical tests can't detect previous seizure activity, they testified.
"There's no way to go back in time and see what happened the day of the event," neurologist Donna Newsome told the jury.
Jones broke his spine in three places and suffered a traumatic brain injury. He's been in medical facilities since the June 22, 2008, wreck and requires a caretaker.
He took the stand Wednesday, telling jurors he was supposed to pick up his daughter from his ex-wife at 11 a.m. They were headed home to Louisiana that day. He had called the teen on his cell phone at 10:47 a.m. to tell her he was five minutes away.
The first 911 call from the wreck came in at 10:52 a.m.
Jones said he remembers traveling 40 mph to 45 mph with traffic when a light somewhere on Legacy turned from green to yellow to red. He tapped his brakes and heard metal on metal.
"I put both feet on the brake pedal, and nothing happened," he told the jury.
He doesn't remember anything after that.
"You don't remember isn't good enough," prosecutor Bill Dobiyanski said. "It won't bring back the five people you snuffed the life from."
Police investigators testified that they found no mechanical problems with the Pontiac.
WFAA.com contributed to this report
