Teen-ager sentenced for deadly car crash

JOPLIN, Mo. -- A teen-ager who had been drinking when he crashed his car into another one in Jasper County, killing two teen-age girls, has been sentenced to one year in jail.

Jasper County Judge David Dally also fined 19-year-old Christopher Tomblin $1,000 Monday for his conviction on two counts of involuntary manslaughter, stemming from the accident on March 23 last year.

"This case has perplexed the court," Dally said, expressing his dissatisfaction with the sentence.

"I've tried to think of something that would benefit the community and benefit you ... There's nothing else I can do."

Tomblin was convicted Feb. 6 by a jury that recommended two consecutive six-month jail terms. Tomblin had faced up to seven years in prison.

Trial witnesses testified that Tomblin and other teens from Jasper County had attended two parties near Carthage the night of the accident.

Noah Heath drove a carload of friends from one of the parties until stopping just beyond a crest in the county road. Tomblin was driving another car 80 mph on the rural road en route to meet them, when he crested the hill, slammed on his brakes and struck the other car.

Tomblin and Heath were both injured, but Anna Iles, 16, and Kelsey Ritchie, 17, who were sitting in Heath's back seat, were killed.

A test showed that Tomblin's blood-alcohol level several hours after the crash was not high enough for a driving while intoxicated charge.

Iles' mother, Leslie Iles Pruitt, called the six-month sentences "a spit in the face."

"This is the worst nightmare a mother could have, and Adam made it come true," Pruitt said.

"He has cheated us in the worst way."

Tomblin's attorney, Ross Rhoades, had asked the jury to consider that Tomblin could not see that Heath's car was stopped in the road beyond the rise.

Lawsuits in the girls' deaths are pending.