A 22-year-old man from Carthage who killed a woman while driving more than twice the speed limit on North Glenstone Avenue on Dec. 3 was sentenced to 10 years in prison in July. Instead, he could be placed on probation.
Alan Gray Jones was driving a 2022 Tesla at 98 mph five seconds prior to colliding with a vehicle driven by 57-year-old Rita Deckard, of Marshfield, according to court documents. She died at the scene.
Deckard had three daughters and six grandchildren, according to her obituary.
Aug. 1, Jones reported to the Greene County jail, where he was photographed. He had been out on bail and reported to the jail in order to be sent to prison.
Jones was driving north on Glenstone, near Interstate 44, during the afternoon and he hit Deckard's vehicle, which was turning left onto the eastbound on-ramp for I-44.
Jones had a green light but was travelling close to 100 mph in a 40 mph zone. Deckard had a flashing yellow left-turn light, according to court documents.
Passenger in Jones' car also injured
A passenger in Jones' car was injured, too. She had several broken bones. She and Jones were transported to the hospital.
Jones also had been charged with tampering with evidence. He was accused of removing a media drive from his vehicle's glove box after the crash. The media drive, which contained video from the dashboard camera and other information, eventually was obtained by police.
Jones entered a plea of guilty to involuntary manslaughter before Greene County Circuit Judge Kaiti Greenwade. The judge sentenced Jones to 10 years in prison.
Jones also was told to participate in a 120-day program in prison. If he refuses to participate, he will be expected to serve his full sentence. If he participates and does well, he might be placed on probation.
Deckard lived in Marshfield. According to her obituary, published by the Day Funeral Home in Marshfield, she was married to Randy Deckard and they had three daughters.
“Rita poured her heart and soul into the Marshfield Dairy Queen for a total of 24 years,” part of the obituary reads. “She had the amazing opportunity to buy the store with her sister, Cindy, in 2015. Then, in 2018, they purchased the Dairy Queen in Monett. She loved working with employees of all ages and had a great desire to help everyone reach their full potential.
“Her grandchildren were the joy of her life. She loved them and spent every moment she could with them.”
She had six grandchildren “plus one on the way.”
