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Kilgore man accused of driving intoxicated, killing 22-year-old indicted on manslaughter

According to DPS, Nichols struck a stalled vehicle while its passengers were trying to get the car moving by pushing and pulling it.

KILGORE, Texas — Editor's note: The attached video is from Jan. 18, 2022.

A Kilgore man accused of striking a stalled car while driving intoxicated on Highway 31 and killing a 22-year-old Overton resident has been indicted on an intoxicated manslaughter charge. 

Gary L. Nichols, 41, was arrested Jan. 12 in connection with a wreck that killed Jace D. Taylor and injured three other people on Highway 31 East 13 miles east of Tyler.  

A grand jury handed down an indictment against Nichols during the April 7 session. He has a plea docket agreement hearing set for June 22, according to court records.

According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, Nichols struck a stalled vehicle while its passengers were trying to get the car moving by pushing and pulling it.

DPS said a 1997 GMC Jimmy had become disabled in the eastbound lane of the highway. 

Devin C. Hardee, 24, and Taylor, both of Overton, were attempting to push/pull the vehicle while the driver,  Ashley L. Wilson, and passenger Hayley Wilson remained in the vehicle, DPS said.

Nichols was driving a 2008 Cadillac CTS eastbound on the same roadway and struck the disabled vehicle, according to DPS. Taylor was pronounced dead at the scene.

Ashley L. Wilson, 22, of Overton, and Hayley Wilson, 23, of Overton, were both taken to local hospitals in critical condition, DPS said. 

Hardee was transported to a hospital in stable condition.  Nichols was treated at the scene, DPS reported. 

Nichols remains in the Smith County Jail on bonds totaling $1,525,000. When he was arrested, he was also charged with two counts of intoxicated assault and failure to comply with a sex offender's duty to register, according to jail records. 

He has not been indicted on these charges. 

According to the Texas sex offender registry, Nichols was sentenced to two years in prison for indecency with a child by exposure in 2015. His registry requirement currently ends in 2027. 

Under the state penal code, a person found guilty of intoxicated manslaughter faces between two to 20 years in prison, a fine up to $10,000 and a driver's license suspension ranging from six months to two years.

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