DE QUEEN, Ark. - An Abilene, Texas, man pleaded guilty Wednesday to causing an accident that killed three members of a Sevier County family last year.
Justin Blake Williams was sentenced to 80 years in prison.
"We had the sentencing part of trial and it was pretty emotional testimony," said Ninth West Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney Bryan Chesshir. "We are pleased with the verdict and the sentence, but like I told the family, I don't know if it's ever enough," he said.
Williams, 26, pleaded guilty to three counts of negligent homicide as well as one count of first-degree felony battery. A criminal trial was scheduled to begin Thursday but Williams entered the guilty plea before the trial began, according to the prosecutor's office.
The accident happened on Oct.12, 2019.
According to an Arkansas State Police accident report, Williams was driving a Dodge Ram truck north on Highway 41 near De Queen when he crossed the center line and struck an SUV containing four members of a Horatio, Arkansas, family. Mirza and Jessica Baig and their daughter Lilian, 9, were killed in the accident.
They were all pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.
The couple's other young daughter, who was 7 at the time, was seriously injured in the accident.
On Wednesday, the girl's victim impact statement was read by her grandmother.
"She prayed he would quit drinking and driving," Chesshir said.
Jessica Baig's father was three vehicles behind his daughter's when the accident occurred, Chesshir said. His reaction to the accident is on video played during the sentencing and was very emotional, he said.
Williams was in the process of moving to Gilliam, Arkansas, when the accident occurred.
Williams told the trooper who responded to the accident that's he was traveling north and trying to pass another vehicle in a no-passing zone when the accident happened, according to the affidavit.
The Trooper reported that Williams' speech was slow and slurred and that he could smell an odor of intoxicants on his breath when he spoke.
Williams told the Trooper that he had "a few" drinks, according to the affidavit.
Williams was also injured and was arrested a few days later in the hospital. He was later released on a $100,000 bail.