Plea bargain made over crash that killed teacher

A Henderson man pleaded guilty Monday to a felony drunken driving charge stemming from an accident that killed a popular schoolteacher.

Jeffrey Marples, 40, admitted that he was responsible for the collision that killed Nate Mack Elementary School third-grade teacher Cindi Turner and injured two of her children. He said he was reaching for a water bottle he had dropped when his truck crossed into oncoming traffic and slammed into the teacher's car.

Deputy District Attorney Gary Booker said Marples' blood-alcohol level was tested at 0.28 percent, nearly three times the 0.10 percent minimum to prove drunken driving.

Turner died in the Feb. 25 incident at Valle Verde Drive at Clearwater Canyon Drive. Her children, 3-year-old Kelsea and 5-year-old old Dustin, were seriously injured.

In the plea bargain, three original DUI charges were consolidated into the single count, and three counts of reckless driving plus one count of involuntary manslaughter will be dismissed when Marples is sentenced on June 21, Booker said.

Getting the maximum sentence on the single count -- eight to 20 years in prison -- is in Marples' best interest because if Lehman gives the defendant a shorter term, Booker can call off the deal and take the case to trial on the original counts.

Turner, 30, was on break at the year-round school in Green Valley, where she had taught for eight years.

Nate Mack Principal Teddie Brewer described Turner as "an excellent teacher -- kind, friendly, upbeat. She was always interested in helping people, especially her students."

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