Man to Learn Sentence for Crash That Killed 2 UCSD Students

A U.S. Marine who driving drunk and caused a head-on crash in Mission Valley that killed two UC San Diego medical students in 2015 will learn his sentence Friday.Jason Riley King was found guilty on two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter for the deaths of Madison Elizabeth Cornwell, 23, and Anne Li Baldock, 24, in January. A jury found him not guilty on two counts of murder. Menendez Brothers Reunited in San Diego’s Donovan Prison He faces up to 17 and four months years in prison with the possibility of parole at 15 years.Prosecutors said King drove drunk on the night of May 16, 2015, despite attempts by friends, a bar employee and bar patrons to stop him.  HS Football Player Debilitated by Concussion Awarded $7.1M King left In Cahoots Saloon in Mission Valley and drove his lifted Ford F-150 truck into oncoming traffic on State Route 163. He collided head-on with a Toyota Prius.Cornwell and Baldock were killed. Three other people in the car were also injured. All five were friends and UCSD Medical School students. Attack on Logan Heights Church Affirms Fears of Incoming Homeless Storage Facility During trial proceedings, the prosecution told a jury about King’s attendance at two military-sponsored anti-drunk driving events, one of which was just eight days before the deadly crash.Deputy District Attorney Cally Bright said that King’s extensive knowledge about the dangers of drinking and driving stemming from weekly warnings and frequent stand-downs sponsored by his employer, the U.S. Marine Corps, was greater than the average person’s and is why they pushed for murder charges.When asked why he took off in his car despite his recent attendance at the seminars and multiple pleas to hand over his keys from friends prior to the crash, King told a judge it was because he was “ignorant.”King’s defense agreed with the prosecution’s assertion that King was solely responsible for the crash, but argued that the murder charges were too severe.Photo Credit: NBC 7
Source: NBC San Diego