Firefighter goes to prison in wrong-way DUI crash

A Nevada State Police trooper, who put himself in the way of a drunken wrong way driver, may never serve again in that capacity again, his mother said on Tuesday.

Firefighter James Arthur Coolbaugh, 31, was driving north in the southbound lanes of Highway 395 on Oct. 20, 2023, when Trooper Ross Miller pulled his patrol vehicle into the path of Coolbaugh’s pickup.

“He loved his job,” Miller’s mother said. “But he probably won’t be able to go back to it. We will forgive you, but we’re still angry.”
Miller’s father said his son took joy in helping people.

I don’t hate you, but I hate what you did,” he told Coolbaugh. “Bodies heal, psyches take longer. I wish my son could continue his love, go back and find love in what he did?

Coolbaugh’s parents testified for him, along with his Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor.

“He always tried to be the best brother and son he could be,” she said.

His father said Coolbaugh helped fight the Davis Fire last month as a member of a hot shots crew.

“He’s worth more to society as an elite firefighter than serving a lengthy prison sentence,” he said.

Defense attorney Jennifer Arias Mayhew said Coolbaugh fought 39 fires during his career.

“He understands what it is to have a job and have a purpose,” she said.

Prosecutor Ric Casper showed video from both another trooper’s dash camera and Miller’s showing Coolbaugh’s pickup driving north at 90 mph.

The first trooper activated his emergency lights as he saw Coolbaugh heading north. Miller then activated his lights to get two other vehicles to pull over before heading south and turning into the median where Coolbaugh’s pickup collided with his patrol car.

Flames could be seen on Miller’s body camera through the window of the patrol car in the aftermath of the collision.

“I’m truly sorry for my actions,” Coolbaugh told the court. “I’ve spent my entire life trying to help people. I hope you can forgive me.”

Coolbaugh admitted to a count of driving under the influence causing substantial bodily harm which carried a maximum of up to 20 years. Under a plea agreement, prosecutors recommended no more than eight years.

“You put all those people at risk,” District Judge Tod Young said in giving Coolbaugh 30-96 months in prison and the mandatory $2,000 fine.