Widow of Fallen Towman Says Justice Falls Short

A Mobile County jury has found Elizabeth Sprinkle guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the 2021 death of tow truck driver Jonathan Neesmith—a verdict his widow calls “a slap on the wrist.”

Neesmith, a husband and father of four, was working along I-65 in Saraland, a city just north of Mobile, when Sprinkle’s vehicle clipped the flatbed of his tow truck, killing him. Prosecutors argued Sprinkle, 61, was guilty of reckless manslaughter after tests showed tramadol in her system. Her attorney countered the medication was legally prescribed and at a therapeutic level.

Jurors ultimately convicted her of the lesser misdemeanor charge. “I don’t think it justifies anything,” said Rebecca Neesmith, who described her late husband as “the greatest man” and said their youngest child was just three at the time of his death.

Defense attorney Buzz Jordan said he was satisfied with the verdict, while District Attorney Keith Blackwood noted it “will never undo the pain caused.” Sprinkle faces sentencing November 20, with a maximum penalty of one year in jail. Source: https://www.fox10tv.com