SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – After nearly four years of delays and competency hearings, the suspect at the center of a deadly Sioux Falls crash has entered into a plea agreement.
Tayten Stebbins, 27, has signed court papers saying he plans to plead guilty to two counts of manslaughter. Those charges stem from a crash on May 8, 2021.
Authorities say Stebbins was drunk, high on cocaine and going more than 80 miles per hour on Arrowhead Parkway when he ran a red light and crashed into a car with four people inside.
Two high school students died and two others were seriously hurt.
Stebbins suffered a traumatic brain injury and has undergone extensive rehabilitation since then.
Because of that treatment, rather than spending time in jail, Stebbins has been out on bond since his initial arrest.
For awhile, the courts questioned whether he was competent to stand trial.
In June of last year a judge finally decided he is quote, ‘restored to competency.’ A jury trial was scheduled for next month, but a plea agreement, signed by Stebbins, was filed on Friday.
In those court documents, Stebbins writes in his own words that he is guilty of driving over 100 miles per hour and t-boning another vehicle resulting in two deaths.
He goes on to indicate he does not remember it, however, based off police reports, photographs and what others have told him he believes he was in a car accident on May 8, 2021, and that he caused it.
He also indicated he believes he was driving dangerously that night by drinking and driving at a high speed. Stebbins now awaits his change of plea hearing and sentencing.
Out on Arrowhead Parkway, two signs -decorated by loved ones – stand in memoriam of the teenagers killed three years and four months ago.
Under the plea agreement, Stebbins could face a maximum sentence of 50 years in prison. The change of plea hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
