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Grass Valley man admits guilt in Incline deaths


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A Grass Valley man last week pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a 2011 DUI case that ended with the deaths of an Incline Village couple.

Robert C. Mathis and Linda Mathis, both 46, died after being struck by a vehicle driven by Christopher Torii Smith, 26.

Christopher Torii Smith

Christopher Torii Smith

In pleading guilty to two felony counts of reckless driving causing death, Smith could be sentenced to six years in prison. The sentencing is scheduled for August in Reno.

Nevada Highway Patrol officers said on Dec. 30, 2011, the victims were crossing Highway 28 just south of Village Boulevard in Incline when they were struck by the pickup driven by Smith, who was headed south.

The following September, Smith was arrested for allegedly attacking another man in a bathroom at AT&T Park during a San Francisco Giants baseball game. No charges were ever filed in that incident.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

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Comments (8)
  1. Jeff cassetta says - Posted: May 19, 2013

    6 years? That’s it? believable !

  2. MTT says - Posted: May 20, 2013

    Have you seen the area where Mr. and Mrs Mathis were hit?

    And I guess its not important but there BAT’s were both over .22 That is staggering hammered drunk.

    Its just very sad for everyone. But don’t label this guy as some monster who was roaring down the roadways hammered. that is just not what happened.

    I have been meaning to see what they have done with that Cross walk since this incident. There has been allot of talk but what was actually done?

  3. Mick says - Posted: May 20, 2013

    MTT: Your horrible grammar and spelling make what ever lame point you are trying to make…mute.

  4. 4-mer-usmc says - Posted: May 20, 2013

    ****:

    You crack me up! Your criticism of MTT’s grammar and spelling was as follows:

    MTT: Your horrible grammar and spelling make what ever lame point you are trying to make…mute.

    Correct grammar, spelling, punctuation and syntax should read as follows:

    MTT: Your horrible grammar and spelling make whatever lame point you are trying to make moot.

    Definition of Moot: Of little or no practical meaning; hypothetical; purely academic.

    Definition of Mute: Silent; not emitting or having sound of any kind.

    **** — Thanks for the laugh!!

  5. LilPeter says - Posted: May 20, 2013

    The Dunning-Kruger Effect.. squared.

  6. MTT says - Posted: May 20, 2013

    I got tagged on my Spelling and Grammar?

    Cool.

    Facts.
    A man hit A couple in the dark in or near a cross walk on SR28 right below the Raleys parking lot.
    The Driver was traveling 41 MPH in a posted 35 zone.
    the 30 year old man was not intoxicated.
    The Driver may or may not have been impaired by Marijuana (Blood test is inconclusive) it really only indicates that he has used Marijuana in the past.
    The Driver holds a medical MJ card in the State of California.
    There is no Signal where this moderately used cross walk exists.
    There are multiple Driveways on both sides of the road in the vicinity of this cross walk.
    There are Bars on both sides of the Road in the area of this crosswalk but set far back from the road.
    The Couple who were run over and killed each had a Blood alcohol level of .23X Almost 3 the legal limit to drive. (But they were walking) Crossing a highway on a poorly lit piece of hwy in the dark

    These are the facts. You could make several different conclusions based on this information.

    Now I was not there, but I have driven over that crosswalk better than 1,000 times.

    You could come up with allot of stories as to how this happened. None of them would be the Driver is some kind of menace to society who needs to be locked up.

    Out of respect for the dead and there loved ones I will not speculate as to what might really have happened.

    I hope something like this never happens you. AND (yes it could)

  7. 4-mer-usmc says - Posted: May 20, 2013

    LilPeter:

    Thank you for teaching me something new today. In my research on the Dunning-Kruger Effect I found the following quote which I believe is all too true and rather unfortunate:

    “One of the painful things about our time is that those who feel certainty are stupid, and those with any imagination and understanding are filled with doubt and indecision.” – Bertrand Russell

  8. John says - Posted: May 20, 2013

    MTT if those are the facts then this is a very different story from what I understood. It does illustrate how badly we need a test for marijuana intoxication.