A Missouri truck driver has been sentenced to 12 years in a Colorado prison for driving drunk the wrong way on Interstate 70 east of Limon in 2010 and killing another driver.
Jason Ross, 34, of St. Louis was driving in the accident that killed Martin Hernandez, 71, of Lamar the day after Christmas. He pleaded guilty in November to all 10 charges against him, including vehicular homicide. vehicular assault and driving under the influence of alcohol.
Prosecutors said Ross had been drinking “all afternoon” in a Limon bar that day before a bartender refused to continue serving him. He then bought a bottle of vodka to take with him before driving west in the eastbound lanes of I-70 at about 8 p.m.
Ross drove 11 miles without his headlights on before he hit Hernandez’s Buick head-on.
Hernandez was killed instantly. His wife, Maria, suffered serious injuries and their 9 year old granddaughter, Audiana Hernandez, suffered minor injuries, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Ross had a blood-alcohol level of more than twice the legal limit for driving in Colorado.
