Drunk driver who killed deputy and his daughter in Riverside County pleads guilty
The drunk driver who killed a Riverside County correctional deputy and his 19-year-old daughter faces a decades-long sentence in state prison after he pleaded guilty to all charges related to the 2022 crash.
Scott Bales, 47, admitted to all allegations, including previous driving under the influence charges and the two counts of second-degree murder, according to the Riverside County District Attorney's Office. The court sentenced him to 30 years to life in prison.
The deadly crash happened in November 2022 along the winding two-lane highway, Gilman Springs Road, in Moreno Valley. The California Highway Patrol said Bales was driving his Chevrolet Silverado while drunk and swerved into oncoming traffic, striking a Honda Insight head-on.
The collision launched the sedan off the road, killing Correctional Corporal Daniel Jacks Jr. and his 19-year-old daughter Hannah.
Jacks, 45, began his tenure with the RCSD over a decade ago and was assigned to a few jails in the Inland Empire. During his career, he was stationed in Indio and Palm Springs. He was only recently promoted to corporal.
In 2022, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said they were saddened to announce the deaths of the father and daughter and noted that they belonged to a loving family of four.
