Driver Accused of Killing Deputy and Daughter Hasn't Held Valid License Since 2005

Daniel Jacks Jr. (left) and his daughter Hannah (right), the victims of the crash.

A 47-year-old driver allegedly, while under the influence of alcohol killed a sheriff’s deputy and his daughter in a head-on collision. The crash happened last Saturday night on Gilman Spring Road in Moreno Valley, California. The California Highway Patrol believes the alleged drunk driver crossed into the oncoming lane and hit the deputy’s sedan. The accused driver and his passenger were both hospitalized and are expected to survive. Shockingly, the accused driver hasn’t held a valid driver’s license since 2005.

According to The San Bernardino Sun, the California Highway Patrol claim that Scott Brandon Bales was driving a black Chevrolet Silverado west on Gilman Springs Road. By the police account, an intoxicated Bales drifted into the eastbound lane and struck a Honda Insight head-on. Daniel Jacks Jr., a 45-year-old Riverside County sheriff’s correctional deputy, was driving the sedan with his 19-year-old daughter Hannah Jacks as a passenger. Jacks and his daughter both died at the scene.

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CHP arrested Scott Brandon Bales on suspicion of DUI causing injury. A California DMV spokesman has stated that Bales hasn’t had a valid license for 17 years. Bales was convicted of misdemeanor DUI four times and driving without a license at least three times. In 2015, his license was revoked when he pleaded guilty to “felony DUI with three or more priors, felony driving with a blood alcohol of .08 percent or higher with three or more priors, driving on a suspended license, a misdemeanor, and speeding.”

As a part of the 2015 plea, Bales was required to sign a Watson Advisement, a document advising him that his prior DUI conviction could be used against him in court should he face a DUI resulting in injury charge in the future. Bales has not yet been formally charged. Though, Watson Advisements are usually used against defendants facing a second-degree murder charge, which can result in a prison sentence of 15 years to life.

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