Drunk driver who fled scene after killing pedestrian in Chandler sentenced to prison
Jan 8, 2025, 2:00 PM
PHOENIX – A drunk driver who fled the scene after killing a pedestrian in Chandler over a year ago was sentenced to 11 years in prison on Tuesday.
Keith James Taylor, 27, previously pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter and one count of leaving the scene of a fatal accident, according to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.
His prison sentence will be followed by five years of intensive probation.
Taylor’s blood-alcohol content was over twice the legal limit when he was apprehended after the Nov. 27, 2023, hit-and-run incident, prosecutors said.
He was driving east on Ocotillo Road around 7 a.m. when he hit a woman walking in a marked crosswalk at Paseo Trail.
What happened after drunk driver hit woman?
The collision killed 73-year-old Melinda Epperson.
Taylor drove off but crashed into another vehicle at McQueen and Ocotillo roads, just a few blocks from where he hit Epperson.
He then fled on foot, according to court records, but police found him near McQueen and Chandler Heights roads, a mile from the crash site.
He was out of breath, covered in mud and sweating, according to the probable cause statement for his arrest.
“You can run but you can’t hide from law enforcement,” County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in a press release Wednesday. “The clear disregard for human life was evident in this case and the sentence ordered by the court is justified for the crime committed.”
