BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A 23-year-old man pleaded no contest Friday to all charges filed against him in a crash that killed three of his passengers on New Year’s Eve 2020.
Adam Teasdale will be sentenced to six years in prison after pleading no contest to three counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and DUI causing bodily injury. Judge Charles R. Brehmer accepted the plea agreement during a brief hearing in which Teasdale said he understood and agreed to the terms.
Given the time he’s already served in custody, plus 50% custody credits, Teasdale will serve about six more months before he’s released. Sentencing is set for June 27.
A District Attorney’s office release said the agreement was reached after speaking with the victims’ families “and in consideration of sentencing law changes that restrict imposition of middle and upper term sentences, particularly for defendants who are youthful and have no criminal history aside from the charged crime.”
Teasdale has no prior criminal record.
Teasdale’s attorney H.A. Sala said afterward there were significant issues as to whether he was a substantial factor in the crash. At an earlier hearing, evidence was presented indicating Teasdale’s car was cut off by another vehicle, Sala said.
There were also questions as to whether Teasdale’s actions constituted gross negligence, and whether the prosecution could prove impairment, Sala said. Those issues would have been vigorously litigated if the case proceeded, he said.
Given the substantial factual and legal issues, it was decided the plea deal was the “fairest resolution,” Sala said, noting his client was relieved the case was over, and it helps bring closure both to him and the victims’ families.
“He’s always been very remorseful and heartbroken,” Sala said.
Teasdale allegedly drove under the influence when he swerved, went over a median and hit a tree off Brimhall Road near Jewetta Avenue. Timothy Michael Wilson, Devin Lee Atha and Andrew Nicholas Ortiz, all 20, were thrown from the car and died. A fourth passenger suffered minor injuries.
Police found “whip-it” canisters of nitrous oxide — which provide a brief high by inhaling the gas — and a bottle of Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey with only a few ounces left inside it at the crash scene, according to the documents. A whip-it canister was also found in one of Teasdale’s pockets, the reports say. It’s alleged he had a blood-alcohol content of 0.17%, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08%.