WILMINGTON — A Blanchester man has been sentenced to prison time for his role in a fatal car accident.

On Monday, Clinton County Common Pleas Judge John “Tim” Rudduck sentenced Thomas Watkins to no less than six years and no more than nine years in prison. Watkins, 53, of Blanchester, pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated vehicular homicide in October.

The charge stems from an accident that occurred in July that resulted in the death of 19-year-old Douglas Ross III, also of Blanchester.

According to the accident report from the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Watkins was driving a 2001 Dodge Durango northeast on Shawnee Trace Road in Blanchester/Marion Township with Ross in the passenger seat. Watkins drove off the roadway to the left, struck a ditch, and overturned into a soybean field.

Ross was ejected from the vehicle and he was transported to UC Medical Center in Cincinnati via CareFlight. Ross died of his injuries three days later.

The report describes Watkins as having “glassy bloodshot eyes and appeared to be impaired” and “Watkins had a rigid body posture and was very fidgety.”

Watkins admitted to using meth earlier in the day, according to the report. He initially said someone else was driving but later said he was the operator.

The court documents indicate Watkins was operating the vehicle illegally while under suspension.

“This is not something rare for (Watkins),” court documents state. “(Watkins) has incurred multiple such convictions for driving without a valid license. His irresponsible driving on this occasion resulted in the tragic death of a nineteen-year-old young man.”

Watkins was also sentenced to a lifetime suspension from operating a vehicle.