A Waskom, Texas man about to go on trial in Caddo District Court for a 2023 traffic collision that led to another man’s death pleaded guilty on Jan. 12 to vehicular homicide.

On July 18, 2023, Rodney Dan Lemay, 60, was driving home from work in the 6900 block of Woolworth Road when he swerved over the center line and struck head-on an oncoming vehicle driven by Jeffrey Merritt. Mr. Merritt, 60, had to be extracted from his vehicle. He was later pronounced deceased at a local hospital. Due to the serious injuries involved, routine toxicology samples were taken from Lemay, who was determined to have methamphetamine in his system.

District Judge Chris Victory sentenced Lemay to serve 10 years at hard labor, with three years of the sentence to be served without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. Lemay also was ordered to pay a fine of $2,000.

Lemay was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Courtney N. Ray. He was defended by Michael Enright.

The case was docket No. 399951.