TYLER, Texas — Editor's Note: The above video aired on Jan. 18, 2022.
A Kilgore man was sentenced to 75 years in prison for killing a 22-year-old Overton man while drinking drunk in 2022.
Gary L. Nichols, 43, pleaded guilty to intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle Tuesday in connection with the Jan. 12, 2022 wreck that killed Jace D. Taylor. He was then sentenced to 75 years in prison, according to Smith County judicial records.
He received 862 days of credit for time served in the Smith County Jail.
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 while on State Highway 31 East about 13 miles of east of Tyler. 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 struck the disabled vehicle and Taylor was pronounced dead at the scene, DPS said. Hardee, Ashley L. Wilson and Hayley Wilson, all of Overton, were both taken to local hospitals for their injuries.
Nichols is also indicted on two counts of intoxication assault in connection with the crash.
When he was arrested, he was charged with failure to comply with a sex offender's duty to register, jail records show. 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.