MINDEN, Nev. (KOLO) – A man has been sentenced to 96 months in prison and fined $2,000 for driving under the influence causing substantial bodily harm after he collided with a Nevada State Police trooper in 2023.
James Arthur Coolbaugh will be parole-eligible after having served 30 months.
The court found that on Oct. 23 of last year, Coolbaugh was driving his pickup truck north on U.S.395 through the Carson Valley in the southbound lanes, going the wrong way. Multiple people called 911 to report Coolbaugh as a wrong-way driver, who refused to stop for police and continued to drive the wrong way on the highway.
The chase ended when a trooper with Nevada Highway Patrol, identified as Ross Miller, drove south toward Coolbaugh and collided with him in a head-on collision.
Police obtained a search warrant for samples of Coolbaugh’s blood, which came back as having an alcohol concentration of 0.176%.
Miller was flown by Care Flight to Renown and has suffered what he and his family say are significant, ongoing, and life-altering health issues. They also shared that Miller has not yet been able to return to work.
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