Jackson man sentenced to prison for fiery fatal crash
HILLSDALE — A Jackson man who pleaded guilty to reckless driving causing death as a habitual offender — second offense was sentenced to 11-22 years in prison Monday, Feb. 6, for the Dec. 27, 2020, fiery crash that killed his then girlfriend.
Patrick Albert Gibbons III, 33, entered a plea bargain in the case on Dec. 12, 2022, ahead of a scheduled jury trial twice delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Charges of driving while license suspended causing death and operating under the influence — third offense were dismissed pursuant to the plea bargain.
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 in Wheatland Township he saw a “giant fireball” from Gibbons truck.
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McNew also testified that Gibbons stated initially his girlfriend, a 25-year-old female from Jackson, 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 his friend drove over to find a woman pinned 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.
“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.
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He also said he attempted to extinguish the growing fire before Trumble and others arrived.
Hillsdale County Prosecutor Neal Brady added that Gibbons was under the influence of methamphetamine at the time of the crash, which Gibbons later admitted to.
“That could have been a contributing factor and I believe it was,” Brady said.
— 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 sentenced to prison for fiery fatal crash
