A 40-year-old Akron woman was sentenced Monday to five to seven-and-a-half years in prison after a drunken driving crash on Interstate 76 in Rootstown left two of her three children in the car seriously injured, including one with a fractured skull. Shantel Jackson had pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the June 4 collision, and Portage County Common Pleas Judge Becky Doherty handed down the sentence Nov. 2.
According to the Akron Beacon Journal, the crash injured two of Jackson's three children who were riding in the car with her. One child suffered a skull fracture, while another required 18 sutures, including for a subdural hematoma. Jackson herself was not injured in the collision, the paper reported.
Jackson had a blood alcohol level of 0.269 percent at the time of the crash — more than three times Ohio's legal limit, per the same report. She was also driving outside the terms of a license suspension stemming from a prior offense, which only permitted her to drive to and from work.
Prosecutor Describes Extent of Impairment
Prosecutor Sean Scahill told the court that Jackson was so impaired that day she did not realize she had hit a box truck, the Beacon Journal's reporting states. Scahill sought a 16-year prison sentence along with a lifetime suspension of Jackson's driver's license, arguing she was outside her driving privileges when the collision occurred.
Jackson's defense attorney, Anthony Carbone of the Portage County Public Defender's Office, said his client was very remorseful and had been working on her sobriety while incarcerated at the Portage County jail, the outlet reported. Jackson herself told the court she was working to become a better person and asked for a chance to get help with her drinking.
Judge Imposes Mandatory Prison Term
Jackson was sentenced to five to seven-and-a-half years in prison for each count of aggravated vehicular assault and 12 months for each count of endangering children, with the sentences set to run concurrently, according to the Beacon Journal's account. Her plea agreement included a mandatory prison sentence, meaning she will serve at least five years behind bars. The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction will determine whether Jackson serves the minimum five years or the full term, weighing her conduct in prison and participation in programming.
An excerpt of Ohio's aggravated vehicular assault statute, Section 2903.08 of the Ohio Revised Code, states that except as otherwise provided, the offense is classified as a felony of the third degree.
Jackson's License Suspended for 15 Years
Jackson's driver's license will be suspended for 15 years, retroactive to the date of the crash, per the Beacon Journal's reporting.
Judge Doherty told Jackson the sentence could not be reduced by law. The judge also said Jackson's children could have died in the crash, according to the outlet's account of the proceedings.
