Lancaster habitual traffic offender killed motorcycle driver. He’s heading to prison.
A Lancaster motorcycle driver who had a suspended license when he hit and killed another motorcyclist has been sentenced to five years in prison, prosecutors said.
Justin Ellis, 34, pleaded guilty Monday to reckless vehicular homicide in the 2017 death of Fred Newton Jr., said 6th Circuit Solicitor Randy Newman.
Ellis was a habitual traffic offender who was driving under suspension in August 2017 when Newton died, Newman said.
Newton, 48, was also driving a motorcycle when Ellis ran a stop sign at Knotty Pine Drive and Providence Road, according to Newman and S.C. Highway Patrol.
Ellis’s motorcycle hit Newton’s motorcycle, officials said. Newton died at the scene, officials said at the time in 2017.
A conviction for reckless vehicular homicide in South Carolina carries a penalty of up to 10 years for a conviction. The death has to come within three years of the crash and includes the reckless disregard of the safety of others, state law shows.
Ellis also was sentenced to five years probation after his prison sentence, court records show.
This story was originally published November 18, 2019 at 2:47 PM with the headline "Lancaster habitual traffic offender killed motorcycle driver. He’s heading to prison.."
