Cathleen Allison/Nevada Appeal Nevada Highway Patrol trooper Rich Bailey escorts Billy Joe Thompson into the Carson City Jail on Thursday morning. Thompson was arrested on a felony warrant for a fatal wreck in which two of his friends were killed in February.
A Carson City man was arrested Thursday on a warrant charging him with driving with marijuana in his system when he wrecked his car on Deer Run Road in February, killing Eric Thompson and Ashley Masek.
Billy Joe Thompson, 24, no relation to the victim, is being held in the Carson City Jail on suspicion of felony DUI causing death.
A criminal complaint filed in Carson City Justice Court on April 26, alleges Thompson had 32 nanograms of marijuana in his blood within two hours of the Feb. 16 accident.
According to the Nevada Highway Patrol, Thompson was southbound near Mallow Road about 10:30 a.m. when he lost control and went into a broadside skid, careening into a rock and cement pillar. The investigation estimated Thompson's speed at between 82 and 88 mph. Thompson allegedly told officers he was going about 30 mph when he swerved to avoid a dog.
Ashley Masek died while on the way to the hospital. Eric Thompson was pronounced dead at the scene.
"It's a shame," said Kathy Thompson, Eric's mother. "He's a young man himself with a family and DUI causing death is a mandatory prison term."
Kathy Thompson said the passage of time has done little to lessen her family's grief. And the prosecution of Billy Joe Thompson, though inevitable, is an empty victory, she said.
"We feel that he needs to face the consequences," she said. "We're hoping Billy Joe and kids that he knows, and Eric's friends too, have learned a very valuable lesson over this whole thing. We hope it gets the word out to all of our kids how precious our lives are and how such a simple, silly, stupid, reckless act can ruin your life."
Billy Joe Thompson is being held on $100,000 bail.
• Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.