A 27-year-old Clinton man has been ordered to spend nearly three decades in jail for his role in a fatal traffic crash in Pettis County on March 1, 2020.

According to a report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the crash occurred when a northbound vehicle, driven by Westley Reid, failed to stop for a red light and struck a westbound vehicle, driven by 27-year-old Zackary Hancock Bottom, who was ejected out of his vehicle and later pronounced deceased at a hospital. Reid was driving a vehicle that was reported stolen, and was fleeing law enforcement at the time of the crash.

Reid pleaded guilty, on January 11, to a Class A Felony for Second-Degree Murder; a Class B Felony for Driving While Intoxicated; a Class D Felony for Tampering with a Motor Vehicle in the First Degree; and a Class E Felony for Resisting Arrest for a Felony.

The Court sentenced Reid, on Friday, to a term of 20 years on Count 1, and 12 years on Count 2, with the sentences to run concurrently. He was sentenced to a 5 years in jail on Count 3, and three years in jail on Count 4, with each of these sentences to run consecutively to and not concurrently with the sentences imposed in Counts 1, 2.