A Reno woman has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for Vehicular Homicide, after she struck and killed a pedestrian while drunk last August.

The Washoe County District Attorney's Office says 53-year-old Debra Thornton previously pleaded guilty to the charge of Vehicular Homicide, and will be eligible for parole after a minimum of 10 years served. 

The DA's Office she was driving on South Virginia Street near Damonte Ranch Parkway when the victim, Jarod Taylor, a 31-year-old man, and his girlfriend were walking on the road. They say Thornton hit Taylor, causing him to be thrown 70 feet. He died on scene.

Taylor’s girlfriend fortunately was not hurt. Though Thornton drove away, the emblem from her car was left behind. While troopers with the Nevada State Police troopers were investigating the hit-&-run, officers with Reno Police Department responded to a nearby apartment complex to the report of a reckless driver. A witness told police that they saw a car with front end damage with deployed airbags and followed her to the complex.

When police talked to Thornton, they say she admitted to hitting someone in  the road. 

Police say toxicology reports later showed Thornton had a blood alcohol content of 0.167, which is more than twice the legal limit.

Thornton has three prior Driving Under the Influence convictions. 

ORIGINAL STORY: AUGUST 31, 2023

On August 12, around 2 p.m., Nevada State Police responded to a reported crash involving a pedestrian at South Virginia Street and Greenwood Drive near the Tamarack Casino.

Preliminary investigations indicate that a silver 2011 Honda CR-V hit a man when it entered the shoulder where he was walking.

The man who was hit and killed was later identified by medical examiners as 32-year-old Jarod Clinton Taylor from Las Vegas.

He was pronounced dead on-scene.

The driver of the CR-V fled the scene, but was later identified as Debra Ann Thornton, a 52-year-old woman from Reno.

She was arrested and booked into the Washoe County Jail for suspicion of impairment at the time of collision, and other charges.

The investigation is ongoing.

This fatality marks the Nevada State Police, Highway Patrol – Northern Command West 31st fatal crash, resulting in 34 fatalities for 2023.

(Nevada State Police assisted with this report.)