A man who killed his three teen passengers when he ran off the road while speeding in his Trans Am near the foot of Harrison Ferry Mountain in 1978 will serve a year behind bars for a new drunk driving charge.
For the drunk driver, Ronald L. Derossett, 52, his recent conviction will bring him as much jail time as he got when he was sentenced in 1979 for the deaths of his three passengers. Both the present-day DUI, and the reckless homicide charges from 1979 brought him one year in the county jail. In addition to his year in jail, Derossett will have to pay $350 plus costs and forfeit his driver license for one year.
Derossett was 17 years old when his speeding car flew off Highway 8 and struck numerous trees. His three passengers, Lisa Moffitt and Connie Raby, both 15, and Johnny Kirby, 16, were all killed, while Derossett was critically injured. Derossett was later tried as an adult for their deaths and convicted on reckless homicide charges.
While that sentence has long been complete, Derossett ran afoul of the law while behind the wheel of a car again last year when he was charged with DUI for another wreck, this time a crash injuring only himself.
According to prosecutors, Derossett crashed his Jeep on Highway 56. When lawmen arrived he said he drove off the road. Officers said he had a fresh bruise on his left eye and had a strong odor of alcohol. When asked to take a field sobriety test Derossett told lawmen he was intoxicated.
It was then learned he was driving without a license because of two drunk driving convictions in Florida. It was also determined he had a history of arrests in both South Carolina and Florida since his conviction here for the fatal wreck.