By Miriam Raftery

Photo:  Jennifer and Kirk Nichols, courtesy of Dignity Memorial

March 4, 2023 (Jamul) – Robert Keith Thomas, 30, pleaded guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter and has been sentenced to four years in state prison, CBS 8 reports. He was driving a pickup truck on State Route 94 on Feb. 25, 2022 when a boat trailer he was towing came unhitched and slid across the highway.

 It struck a vehicle driven by Jennifer Nichols, 49, wife of then-interim San Diego Harbor Police Chief Kirk Nichols. She later died in a hospital. Her husband, who was a passenger, had minor injuries.

Thomas also faces a civil suit filed by Nichols’ husband and their two sons, Times of San Diego reports.