Motorist sentenced to more than 16 years for 2014 crash that killed Topeka teen, father

A Bennington man was sentenced Friday to more than 16 years in prison for a 2014 crash that killed a Seaman High School student and her father.

Jason Pisocki, 41, and Emma Jo Pisocki, 18, died in a crash that occurred about 4 p.m. April 11, 2014, about 3 miles east of Bennington, which is about 40 miles west of Junction City. They were returning to Topeka after enrolling Emma Jo Pisocki in the fire science program at Hutchinson Community College.

Jason L. Jeardoe, 35, was convicted in March of two counts of involuntary manslaughter while driving under the influence. On Friday, he was sentenced to 195 months in prison by Ottawa County District Judge Rene Young, according to a news release from the Kansas Attorney General’s Office.

Emma Jo Pisocki was about to graduate from Seaman High School, and her father worked as a plumber for McElroy’s.

Jason Pisocki also was a volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician for the Soldier Township Fire Department.

The crash occurred on K-18 highway, a two-lane road on which a vehicle was parked along the north edge, partly in the westbound lane of traffic, the Kansas Highway Patrol said.

The highway patrol said Jeardoe was driving west in a pickup truck when he moved into the eastbound lane to avoid the parked vehicle and collided head-on with the car driven by Emma Pisocki.

The Pisockis were pronounced dead at the scene. Jeardoe also sustained injuries and was taken to Salina Regional Hospital for treatment.