Lake Havasu City man gets 9½ years for deadly DUI crash

A 23-year-old Lake Havasu City, Arizona, man received a 9 ½-year prison term Friday for an alcohol-involved fatal traffic accident early this year.

Nicholas Hasson had previously pleaded guilty to driving under the influence, unlawful use of means of transportation and manslaughter in the Jan. 19 death of Joseph Morgan, 62, also of Lake Havasu.

Morgan, a school district electrician, was on his way to work when his vehicle was T-boned at the intersection of S. Palo Verde and N. Acoma Boulevards just before 6 a.m. Police said Hasson did not have permission to use his brother’s vehicle and that he was intoxicated when he drove through a red light at 80 mph in a 35 mph zone.

The victim’s relatives described Morgan as a consummate family man who was killed eight months before his 40th wedding anniversary and two years before retirement.

“He was the finest human being I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing,” Morgan’s brother-in-law said.

Hasson told Mohave County Superior Court Judge Steve Conn that he was remorseful and willing to accept deserved punishment.

“I’m sick to my stomach every day I wake up,” Hasson said. “And I deeply apologize to the family.”

Conn’s sentence, was six months short of the maximum he could have imposed under limitations of a plea agreement. He also ordered that Hasson to pay $27,000 in restitution.