Jason Ewel Clark, 38, of 142 Laurel St., Mount Airy, entered his plea to that charge and was sentenced Friday in Surry County Superior Court in Dobson.
The case stems from the Jan. 18 death of the Rev. Coy Clifford White, 78, father of Betty Taylor, Surry’s assistant county manager for budget and finance.
White was killed when the 2000 Volkswagen Beetle he was driving was hit head-on by a 1999 Ford F-250 pickup on N.C. 268 near Mount Herman Church Road. The truck had crossed the center line before smashing into White’s car, a N.C. Highway Patrol trooper has said.
The Volkswagen had nearly come to a stop, indicating that the elderly man was trying to avoid the collision. After his pickup slid off the road and came to a stop, Clark attempted to leave the scene of the late-afternoon crash and his truck struck a second car, causing minor damage to that vehicle.
White died on the way to the hospital.
Clark, who was not injured in the crash, subsequently was arrested and initially accused of felony death by vehicle, driving while impaired and felony hit and run involving injury.
However, a county grand jury later upgraded the severity of the case by indicting Clark on a charge of second-degree murder, which superseded the death-by-vehicle violation.
In court Friday, he received a minimum prison sentence of 125 months to a maximum of 159 months after pleading guilty to murder. That case was consolidated with the hit-and-run violation for sentencing purposes.
He also received a separate two-year term for DWI. Another charge issued later against Clark, reckless driving to endanger, was voluntarily dismissed by the state.
During his sentencing hearing, Clark apologized for his actions in causing the death of White.
Clark had twice worked as a deputy with the Surry County Sheriff’s Office, once under former Sheriff Connie Watson, and the second under present Sheriff Graham Atkinson. He was fired from his job the second time after being charged with driving while impaired.
The court recommended Friday that the ex-deputy receive treatment for substance abuse while he is imprisoned. State penal officials also have been issued an advisory “to be aware where defendant is housed, due to him being a former law enforcement officer.”
When Clark was jailed under a $55,000 bond after his arrest in January, he was transported from Surry County and held at a special unit in Forsyth County where those with law-enforcement ties are sequestered from the regular inmate population.
The court ruled Friday that Clark be given credit for five days already served.
Contact Tom Joyce at tjoyce@mtairynews.com or at 719-1924.
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