The man who killed former NFL running back Joe McKnight in a 2016 road-rage incident will be going away for a long, long time.
On Thursday, a judge in Louisiana sentenced Ronald Gasser, 56, to 30 years in prison, seven weeks after he was convicted on manslaughter charges in connection with McKnight’s death.
According to USA Today, McKnight’s wife gave a victim-impact statement as part of Gasser’s sentencing, as did the mother of McKnight’s son.
“To you it might have seemed like an insignificant life to take, but it wasn’t,” said Jennifer McKnight, Joe McKnight’s mother, while giving her victim impact statement.
“Ronald Gasser hear me when I say, it will be my life’s mission to make sure my son Jayden doesn’t grow up with hate for you,” added Michelle Quick, the mother of McKnight’s son. “Not because you don’t deserve it, but because he should not have hate in his heart.”
McKnight was killed in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana in 2016 after Gasser grew angry with his driving, followed him off the highway and tailed him on a five-mile car chase. Gasser was indicted on second-degree murder charges, but a jury chose to convict him on the lesser charge of manslaughter. He faced anywhere from zero to 40 years in prison and was given 30 on Thursday.
McKnight was once one of the top high-school recruits in the country. He signed with USC and was billed as “the next Reggie Bush,” and although he fell short of that impossibly high standard, he rushed for more than 2,000 yards over three college seasons and was selected in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. In four NFL seasons for the Jets and Chiefs, he rushed for 505 yards, added 241 yards receiving and scored four touchdowns, including two on kick returns.
