Jackson man enters plea deal ahead of trial in fatal crash case
HILLSDALE — A Jackson man charged criminally in connection with a Dec. 27, 2020, in Wheatland Township that killed his girlfriend has accepted a plea agreement to end the nearly two-year-old case.
Patrick Albert Gibbons III entered into a plea bargain agreement with the county prosecutor's office Monday, Dec. 12, ahead of a looming jury trial that had been delayed numerous times by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gibbons, now 33, appeared via video teleconference from the Hillsdale County Jail, where his attorney, David Goldstein, informed the court of the plea agreement.
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Gibbons pleaded guilty Monday to reckless driving causing death as a habitual offender — second offense, punishable by up to 22.5 years in prison. All other charges will be dismissed at the time of sentencing.
Details of the fiery crash first emerged during a Nov. 10, 2021, preliminary examination hearing where now retired Michigan State Police Trooper Art McNew testified that when he arrived at the scene of the crash on Somerset Road near Addison Road he saw a “giant fireball” from Gibbons truck.
McNew also testified that Gibbons stated initially his girlfriend, a 25-year-old Jackson woman, was driving.
Phillip Trumble, who lives near the crash site, also testified during the examination hearing that he could see smoke coming from the truck from his garage so he and a friend drove over to find a woman stuck inside the truck.
Gibbons was pacing back and forth 50 feet from the truck, Trumble said, and he went to work to try and free the woman himself.
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“I tried the door first, but it wasn’t going anywhere, so I busted the passenger window open and climbed in,” Trumble said. “I saw a girl, her feet were pinned in. I could grab her feet but I couldn’t free her. Her feet were pinned in the passenger side, but she was slouched over by the driver’s side. She was conscious and we were talking. She kept saying she didn’t want to burn.”
Then, the dash “exploded” and the cab filled with a thick, white smoke just before she lost consciousness, Trumble said. As flames continued to consume the truck, Trumble eventually had to get himself out.
Gibbons testified during his plea hearing that he was, in fact, driving the vehicle, despite his initial statement to police, and that he began “fish-tailing” on the dirt road, lost control and struck a tree.
“I tried to do everything I could to get her out,” Gibbons said.
He also said he attempted to extinguish the growing fire before Trumble and others arrived.
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Hillsdale County Prosecutor Neal Brady added that Gibbons was under the influence of methamphetamine at the time of the crash, which Gibbons later admitted.
“That could have been a contributing factor and I believe it was,” Brady said.
Gibbons is tentatively scheduled for sentencing on Feb. 6.
— Corey Murray is the Public Safety Reporter for The Hillsdale Daily News, Sturgis Journal and The Daily Reporter. Contact him by email at cmurray@hillsdale.net or follow him on Twitter: @cmurrayHDN.
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Jackson man enters plea deal ahead of trial in fatal crash case
