Drinking and driving 130 mph, Hilton Head man killed his friend; he wasn't sent to jail

A Hilton Head Island man was given a 10-year suspended sentence Friday morning in Hampton County Court after a vehicle he drovea year ago reached 130 mph, and then crashed and killed his friend.

Jack Manesiotis, 23, was given the sentence by Circuit Court Judge Carmen Mullen with the condition he complete "intensive inpatient treatment" and finish his college degree.

The 14th Circuit Solicitor's Office had asked for the maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

Asked for a reaction to the sentence Friday, the Solicitor's Office declined comment.

Manesiotis was driving on west William Hilton Parkway on May 7, 2017, around 1:40 a.m. when he lost control of his vehicle, hit a curb and overturned.

His passenger, Austin McLoud, 21, also of Hilton Head, was ejected from the vehicle and was pronounced dead after he was flown to the Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah.

During Friday's hearing, Leigh Staggs of the Solicitor's Office said law enforcement found several cans of beer in and around the vehicle after the crash.

Manesiotis, she said, had a blood alcohol content of .08 and told law enforcement his speedometer maxed out at 130 mph before the crash. He was charged with having an open container and reckless homicide.

Manesiotis, a once-prominent cross-country runner at Hilton Head High School, waived his bond hearing and remained in custody for a year until his Friday sentence. His sentenced credits him for that time. He is also on probation for three years.

Before the crash, Manesiotis was charged with speeding in October 2012 and January 2013, along with a reckless driving charge in September 2016.

The 2012 speeding charge and the reckless driving charge were disposed, according to Beaufort County Court records.

Manesiotis paid a fine of $80 on the 2012 speeding charge and a $445 fine on the reckless driving charge.

The 2013 speeding charge also resulted in an $80 fine.

In a statement to the court on Friday, Manesiotis said he hoped his situation serves as a lesson to other young people.

It was not immediately clear why the plea was heard in Hampton County instead of Beaufort County.

Two calls to Mullen to ask about the hearing's location were not returned.

This story was originally published May 11, 2018 at 11:53 AM with the headline "Drinking and driving 130 mph, Hilton Head man killed his friend; he wasn't sent to jail."