DUCHESNE — A Uintah County man who nearly severed a Roosevelt woman's leg in two places while texting and driving with drugs in his system pleaded guilty Thursday and was sentenced to jail time and probation.

Jake Antonio Arrats, 28, not only had marijuana in his system, but was also texting when he hit Keri Houston, investigators said.

"I have texted before when I was driving home from work, and I really didn't realize how bad it could be," Keri Houston said. "You never do until it happens to you."

The 19-year-old was sitting in a parked car with the driver's door open and her left foot planted on the ground outside when Arrats sideswiped her.

Doctors believe it was the quick thinking of good Samaritans — one of whom used his belt as a makeshift tourniquet — that saved the 19-year-old's life.

Her leg was nearly severed in two places, an injury that required months of hospitalization and 11 surgeries.

"It's been pretty crazy; we've have had our ups and downs," said Keri's father Jeff Houston. "It's been nuts. I've went through a business and everything else just so I could stay home and take care of her."

Arrats told police he was answering a text message from his wife with "Haha" when he hit Houston. He also said he'd had a couple beers earlier that day and had smoked marijuana a couple days prior.

Prosecutors originally charged Arrats with felony DUI, based on the injuries Houston sustained. But Duchesne County Attorney Stephen Foote reduced the charge to driving with a measurable amount of a controlled substance, a class B misdemeanors, because blood tests came back negative for alcohol.

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Arrats pleaded guilty to injuring someone while texting and driving and having trace amounts of marijuana in his system.

Before passing sentence, Judge Douglas Thomas noted that despite the "horrific injuries" inflicted on Houston, Arrats had not been charged with crimes that carried potential prison sentences.

"They're simply not very serious crimes. They're punishable by a maximum, under the law, of six months incarceration," Thomas said. "That's the maximum I can do on a class B (misdemeanor)."

The judge imposed the maximum sentences on all the charges, ordering the jail terms on the drug charge and the texting and driving charge to run consecutively. He then suspended six months of the one-year jail sentence, if Arrats' successfully completes 18 months probation.

As a condition of that probation, Thomas barred Arrats from consuming alcohol, required him to turn off all cellphones or similar devices while driving, and ordered him to participate in a public service campaign about the dangers texting and driving.

Defense attorney Bill Morrison told the court his client has taken "full responsiblity" for his actions from the beginning. He even asked if he could contact Houston and her family to apologize. Morrison said both he and the prosecutor, however, advised Arrats not to do so while the criminal case was pending.

When given the chance in court, Arrats expressed remorse in for what he did to Houston and asked for her forgiveness.

"I'm sorry I ever hit you. It wasn't on purpose. I didn't mean to," he said. "From the bottom of my heart, I apologize, and I hope you can see it in God's eyes that somehow you can forgive me."

Houston hopes she can do that some day, and said hearing Arrats apologize gave her some of the closure she needs to move on.

"I'm definitely ready for it just to be a story for me instead of living it," said Keri Houston.

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