Jackson pleads guilty following fatal crash

A Zalma man charged with involuntary manslaughter following an accident in May has pled guilty this week.

Nickolas Jackson, 23, surprised the court when he pled guilty to in the case of the accident that killed 54-year-old Tommie Bates who was a passenger in Jackson's vehicle.

A jury trial was scheduled to take place in November in regard to the case.

Jackson was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his crime.

The fatal accident last Friday occurred on Highway 51 about one mile north of Puxico when the vehicle Jackson was driving southbound ran off the left side of Highway 51 and struck a tree. His passenger, Bates, was ejected and was pronounced dead the scene.

According to an affidavit from the Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney's office, a patrolman who responded to the wreck suspected that Jackson had been driving under the influence of alcohol at the time of the wreck. Jackson, who sustained what were termed as "moderate" injuries in the accident, reportedly submitted to a test that proved the suspicion to be correct, resulting in the charges.

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