A car salesman who had been drinking rum and also had marijuana in his system took a father and his son for a test drive in a sports car in order to show the customers “how it’s done.” While on the test drive the salesman, Michael Hersey, said that his passengers would “see how the car slides sideways.” While driving in a 35 mph area, the salesman accelerated to an estimated 80 to 100 mph before he swerved to avoid a truck, hit an embankment and rolled over into a field, resulting in the death of the father who was thrown from the vehicle while riding in the back seat.

Hershey was tested for alcohol after the crash and registered .06 percent but also had 47 nanograms of THC in his blood. THC is the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Five nanograms of THC in a person’s blood is considered to be too impaired to drive according to Colorado law.

The salesman was charged with Homicide by Vehicle, DUI, Reckless endangerment and driving at an unsafe speed. According to officials, the salesman had two previous drunken driving arrests in addition to numerous other driving violations.