Man Gets Prison Time For 2021 Fatal Traffic Crash: Sarasota Police

SARASOTA, FL — A Bradenton man is headed to prison for causing a 2021 traffic fatality in Sarasota while high on nitrous oxide, authorities said.

Jordan Schopfer, 32, pled guilty Nov.3 to vehicular homicide and driving while his license was suspended causing death or serious bodily injury, according to a Sarasota Police Department news release.

In part of the plea agreement, he was sentenced to 15 years and five months in the Department of Corrections.

Schopfer hit a motorcycle on June 12, 2021, in the 1200 block of North Beneva Road in Sarasota.

• Also Read: Vehicular Homicide, Manslaughter Charges Filed In Crash

The motorcyclist, a 60-year-old man whose name is withheld under Marsy’s Law, died in the crash.

At the time of the crash, Schopfer’s driver's license was suspended/revoked for a previous driving under the influence with personal injury charge and had previous suspensions, police said. He was also on probation for arson charges.

The motorcyclist was driving southbound on North Beneva Road. Schopfer was initially driving northbound in the outside lane. Witnesses told investigators that he moved from the outside to the inside lane but didn’t try to correct the vehicle, police said.

Schopfer continued driving at an angle over the raised concrete median and into the southbound lanes, hitting the motorcyclist.

Officers found a can of compressed air and a receipt with a purchase time of 12 minutes before the crash occurred in his car. They also found a bag that had a restaurant-style whipping container inside.

Schopfer was identified on surveillance video standing inside a store purchasing a can of compressed air wearing the same clothes he was wearing at the time of the crash. Another camera shows him getting into the car involved in the crash. The car was seen on camera nearly hitting a pedestrian in the parking lot and rear-ending a parked car.

Days after the crash, investigators developed probable cause that Schopfer huffed or snorted nitrous oxide to get high before the crash. The initial effects of inhalant abuse are similar to those of anesthetics: simulations, disinhibition and euphoria, police said. These sensations may be followed by hallucinations and general depression, including slurred speech and drowsiness or sleep within seconds to minutes.

Schopfer was arrested in Manatee County in 2021 by the United States Marshals Service Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force.