An Auburn man who struck and killed a woman outside the Casey’s in Auburn in the summer of 2020 and later pled guilty to 3 counts of driving under the influence of drugs was sentenced in Sangamon County Court last week.
45 year old Bennie L. Jackson of Auburn was sentenced to 12 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections on Wednesday by Sangamon County Circuit Judge Gail Noll.
According to the State Journal Register, Jackson was operating an Auburn Township dump truck when he failed to negotiate a curve on Illinois Route 4, drove through a ditch over Lincoln Street in Auburn, and landed in the gas station’s parking lot before striking and killing 62 year old Obaidah Karen Gresham of Auburn who was standing outside of her vehicle.
Jackson pled guilty to charges back on July 8th.
The State Journal Register says that Sangamon County State’s Atttorney Dan Wright reported that investigators discovered that the dump truck Jackson was driving over 40,000 pounds at the time of the crash and toxicology reports showed that Jackson was intoxicated with cocaine, amphetamine, and methamphetamine while in operation of the truck.
Wright told the SJ-R that the family’s victim impact statements in court were deeply moving through grace and forgiveness.
Jackson must serve 85% of his sentence, according to Illinois Truth In Sentencing laws.