Williamson County driver pleads guilty in crash

A Georgetown man pled guilty Thursday to intoxication assault and aggravated assault relating to a car crash last year in which a police officer’s leg was crushed, Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley said.

As Part of a plea deal with prosecutors, Tommy Hagar, 56, was sentenced to two 10-year prison terms, which will run concurrently, Bradley said.  He will
serve at least five years in prison before he is eligible for parole.

About 7 p.m. December 29, Georgetown police officer Keith Laughlin, 26, was attempting to jump-start a vehicle that had stalled on Austin Avenue in downtown Georgetown when the pickup Hagar was driving rear-ended the car, Bradley said. Laughlin was pinned between his patrol car and the vehicle he was jump-starting and his left leg was crushed, Bradley said.

Bradley said Hagar was arrested and told police he was driving while intoxicated. His blood alcohol level was .20, more than twice the legal limit for driving, Bradley said.

Since the crash, Laughlin has undergone five surgeries and is walking, Bradley said. He has not returned to work.