Drugs and alcohol “lethal” combo, judge rules

A young man is headed to prison, as the judge put it, for the consequences of his actions in Oconee County in 2015 that cost the life of one person and debilitating injuries to a second person.  Judge Scott Sprouse this morning ordered a sentence of 10 years in prison for Jordan Scott Tilson of Walhalla for the offense of felony driving under the influence great bodily injury and felony driving under the influence resulting in death.  Tilson gets credit for nearly two years in jail awaiting his day in court.  Seventeen years old at the time, Tilson was at the wheel of a car that crashed down an embankment and resulted in the death of passenger Autumn Charissa Jordan and severe injuries to a second passenger.  The accident occurred on a March 2015 weekend on s. highway 11 near Mountain and Critter roads.  Sprouse attached conditions to the prison sentence.  Jordan, who is now approaching his 19th birthday, pay a $10,500 dollar fine, must undergo mental health counseling, substance and abuse counseling, obtain his GED, and have no contact with the surviving victim, her family, and the family of the deceased.  Sprouse also said he will sign a civil judgment of $240 thousand to cover medical bills of his victims, though the judge said there’s no realistic way that Tilson can pay the judgment.  Tilson apologized for what happened, although the parents of Jordan said he had previously expressed no remorse.  Defense lawyer Frank Jackson said, “My client takes responsibility for his actions.”  However, Jackson said Tilson was the product of an unstable home which impaired him from making the right decisions.  Jackson said what happened was a horrific accident, adding that Tilson would never have intended to cause an accident involving friends he had known since they were 12 and 13 years old.  The judge told Tilson he’s responsible for the consequences, saying the mixing of alcohol and marijuana and driving are a lethal combination.