(KGTV) -- A former Marine has been sentenced to 17 years in state prison for driving drunk the wrong way on state Route 163 in Mission Valley, then crashing head-on into another car killing two UCSD medical students.
Jason Riley King, 24, was convicted of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
According to testimony throughout the trial, several people told King that he was too drunk to drive, but he got behind the wheel anyway, driving the wrong way on state Route 163 and crashing into the Prius.
The 2015 crash killed 23-year-old Madison Cornwell and 24-year-old Anne Li Baldock. Three classmates also riding in the Prius were seriously injured.
The crash inspired a new law in the state of California that will require all bartenders and servers to take a class on how to spot someone who’s had too much to drink.
Following the crash, classmates of the victims worked with Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego) on assembly bill 1221, also know as the Responsible Beverage Service Training Program Act of 2017.
The law was approved by Governor Jerry Brown on October 15, 2017 and goes into effect July 1, 2021.
