Driver in Crash That Killed King Passenger Gets Jail
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An Altadena resident was sentenced to a year in jail Monday for his role in a car crash that killed two 20-year-olds, including a man who was with Rodney G. King on the night he was beaten by police.
In addition to the jail term, Pasadena Superior Court Judge Michael Byrne referred Robert Gilliam, 26, to a drug and alcohol treatment program. Gilliam pleaded guilty to two manslaughter counts last month. He was charged with drunk driving after the June 29 crash that killed Freddie Helms, who was with King on the night of his now-infamous videotaped beating.
Police said Gilliam was driving 75 m.p.h. in a 35-m.p.h. zone on Lincoln Avenue in Pasadena when he lost control of a 1978 Pontiac Bonneville, which smashed into a telephone pole.
Helms and the other passenger, Bobbie Dixon, were thrown clear of the car. Both men died on the way to the hospital. Blood tests indicated that Gilliam’s blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit, prosecutors said.
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