A Fort Riley soldier, Gary Nelson, 22, has been given a 117 month prison term stemming from an April 3rd incident that resulted in the death of  Jake Black, 53, Manhattan.

Geary County Attorney Steve Opat confirmed the sentence was handed down in Geary County District Court. He noted Nelson had been convicted of Reckless Second Degree Homicide, Reckless Driving, Speeding, and Driving the Wrong Way.  Opat indicated the 117 month term is the presumptive term for Reckless Second Degree Homicide.  “There was a stipulation that was signed by the parties in this case that indicated that Mr. Nelson got off of Exit 301 going west in the eastbound lane of Interstate 70 with the avowed intent of running into a semi, and therefore doing away with himself.”

Black was a passenger in a vehicle that swerved out of Nelson’s way, and  rolled multiple times down an embankment before coming to a stop on its top on an access road south of the interstate. He was taken to Geary Community Hospital where he died.

Nelson was arrested following a high speed chase on I-70 that began in Geary County and ended in Dickinson County