OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Our partners at the Omaha World-Herald say Jeffery Eggeling pleaded no contest Tuesday to motor vehicle homicide and causing serious bodily injury by driving drunk in an early December crash.
Trevor Canaday, 14, died after Eggeling crashed his vehicle into the Canaday family car.
The night of December 1, Eggeling's Ford Escape crashed into the Canadays' car with such force that it ejected Trevor from the passenger seat.
Eggeling fled the crash site, later being tracked down by Omaha Police with help from Eggeling's parents and several friends.
After locating him around 9 p.m., more than three hours after the crash, Eggeling's blood-alcohol content was .10--above the legal limit for driving.
Initially, he claimed his Ford Escape had been stolen, the Omaha World-Herald says.
Eggeling, of Bennington, had a history of drunk driving, with three prior convictions for driving under the influence and operating a boat while drunk.
Eggeling pleaded no contest Tuesday for causing the crash. He faces up to 53 years in prison when sentenced in September.
The Omaha World-Herald says the plea bargain negates the need for the week-long trial initially planned to begin next week.
