THIBODAUX, La. (WVUE) - After a Lafourche Parish jury found 39-year-old Joey Clement guilty of causing a fatal DWI crash that claimed the lives of three Nicholls State University students, he returned to court on Wednesday (Oct. 11).

The judge sentenced Clement to 85 years in prison in total.

The victims, identified as Hali Coss and Michaela Bowling, both 18 years old and 19-year-old Lily Dufrene, were killed over Thanksgiving weekend in 2021.

Clement was sentenced to 20 years for fourth offense DWI, 30 years for the vehicular homicide of Bowling, 30 years for the vehicular homicide of Coss, and five years for the negligent homicide of Dufrene. His prison terms are to be served consecutively.

Clement, a four-time DWI offender, was found guilty of two counts of vehicular homicide and one count of negligent homicide following a trial that began on August 21. The jury’s deliberation concluded after approximately five hours on August 24, resulting in his conviction.

Louisiana State Police reported that Clement’s blood alcohol level was 0.16 percent at the time of the crash, well above the legal limit.

The collision occurred when Clement’s Ford F-150 crossed the center line and collided head-on with the victims’ SUV. Authorities arrested Clement on his fourth DWI offense. Both vehicles were engulfed in flames, and the students were pronounced dead at the scene. Clement suffered minor injuries.

The prosecution argued that the victims were innocent of any wrongdoing, contending that Clement’s intoxicated state and reckless driving were the primary factors in the fatal crash. Clement’s defense maintained that it was the victims’ SUV that crossed into his lane, and they disputed that alcohol consumption automatically equates to guilt in the vehicular homicide charges.

Prosecutors also highlighted that Dufrene, the SUV’s driver, had not consumed alcohol, and they revealed that Clement admitted to drinking multiple alcoholic beverages in addition to prescription medications Adderall and Zoloft prior to the accident.

Clement faces up to 50 years in prison.

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