PULASKI COUNTY, Va. – A Dublin man pleaded guilty on Wednesday in the January DUI crash that took the life of a Pulaski County deputy.
On January 14, 49-year-old Sgt. Perry Hodge was killed in a head-on crash during an early morning drive on Route 11.
Before the crash, Michael Morris had been partying most of Wednesday, January 13, visiting several homes and friends that night, according to court testimony.
At the last place he visited, he was so impaired that he could barely walk.
Morris was driving a 2011 Chevrolet 1500 pick-up truck south on Route 11 when he crossed the centerline and collided head-on with Hodge’s vehicle, causing it to cross over two lanes of traffic.
The toxicology report showed that Morris likely took drugs right before he got in the car and may have had close to a lethal amount in his system.
During Wednesday’s hearing, he admitted to wrongdoing and said that he feels remorse and regrets what happened.
He pleaded guilty to both aggravated involuntary manslaughter and DUI.
He will be sentenced in Pulaski County on Nov. 10 and will remain in the New River Valley Jail until then.