BARTOW – Jaron Skipper faces up to 55 years in prison when he’s sentenced Feb. 8 after a jury convicted him of DUI involving serious injury for a January 2017 collision that has left his 5-year-old son in a coma.
Doctors have said Skipper’s son, John, who was wearing a seat belt in the back seat but wasn’t in a child restraint when the crash occurred, will remain in a coma-like state for the rest of his life, prosecutors said. The collision propelled him into the front seat, and the impact severed his spine.
Skipper’s daughter, Emma, 7, wasn’t wearing a seat belt and was hurled through the truck’s windshield. She fractured her skull when her head slammed into the rear of the Citrus Connection bus, according to reports, but she is recovering. Investigators reported finding strands of blond hair on the truck’s windshield and the back of the bus, according to reports.
During last week’s trial, prosecutors alleged that Skipper, 37, of Eagle Lake, was under the influence of methamphetamine Jan. 11 when he was driving southbound on U.S. 17 about 9 a.m. He had borrowed a gray, 2005 Toyota Tundra pickup truck to drop off his wife, Mary Alice, at work and was returning home as he approached Casey Avenue in Eloise, where the bus was stopped to pick up passengers.
An investigation by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office revealed Skipper made no effort to stop before the impact, and the force of the collision pushed the bus forward about 75 feet. Four passengers in the bus were treated for minor injuries.
Sheriff’s reports state Skipper, who received internal injuries and head trauma in the crash, was arrested in May on charges stemming from the collision.
During his trial, Skipper testified that he didn’t know how the drug had gotten into his system, but investigators had found a small, plastic bag in his pants pocket containing three pills identified as acetaminophen and hydrocodone, which is a controlled substance, reports state.
A Polk County jury deliberated about two hours Saturday before convicting Skipper on two counts of DUI with serious bodily injury, two counts of neglect of a child, two counts of DUI causing injury, two counts of reckless driving and DUI causing property damage.
Skipper’s criminal record shows a previous arrest for DUI, and he was jailed in April 2016 on domestic-violence charges stemming from an altercation with his wife. A month later, he was charged with violating the terms of his pretrial release by visiting the home where his wife was residing.
Suzie Schottelkotte can be reached at suzie.schottelkotte@theledger.com or 863-533-9070. Follow her on Twitter @southpolkscene.