An international tennis champion who killed a tourist through drunk driving was yesterday jailed for 15 months.David Thomas, 23, hit American university professor Alexander Doty, 58, on August 1 after consuming six alcoholic drinks on an evening cruise.He got on his motorcycle to ride home after a friend tried to persuade him not to do so, according to prosecutor Garrett Byrne. Thomas was travelling at around 50kph when he hit Mr Doty as he was walking into town along Pitts Bay Road in Pembroke around 11.10pm leaving him with fatal injuries.Jailing the promising young hotel management trainee yesterday, Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves said: “When (any)one takes the risk of drinking and driving, on the seat beside them is the passenger of death or jail. When you drink and place a vehicle on the road in your control, you’re driving on the road of disaster”. [See sidebar].Mr Byrne told Supreme Court that Dr Doty only arrived in Bermuda that evening, around 10pm. He was staying in bed and breakfast tourist accommodation on Turnstile Lane.According to defence lawyer Saul Froomkin QC, it appeared that Dr Doty was either walking in the middle of the road or in the process of crossing it when he was hit by Thomas near the junction with Roxdene Lane.The defendant had been on a cruise between 6.30pm and 10.15pm, and admitted he’d consumed alcohol. A blood-alcohol test after his arrest showed he was more than twice the drink-drive limit.The accident report also noted that the professor was wearing light-coloured clothing, and it was a well-lit, dry and straight stretch of road, with a full moon that night. Thomas, from Pembroke, suffered minor injuries in the collision.Accident investigator Stephen Paynter said there was no reason for the motorcyclist not to have seen the pedestrian, and it was “inexplicable” that he didn’t.According to Mr Froomkin: “Mr Thomas didn’t see Mr Doty until the last minute”.He called a number of character witnesses on behalf of Thomas, a management trainee at the Elbow Beach Hotel who attended West Pembroke Primary and Saltus schools before university in the United States.Monica Massey, director of human resources at Elbow Beach, said he is the “epitome of hospitality; talented and gifted.” Ian Gordon, an architect and sports development volunteer, described him as a “role model” for young people. Michael Montgomery, a network administrator who mentored Thomas through the YouthNet scheme said: “He’s one of the best young men I have ever met”.Dr Doty was chair of the Department of Communication and Culture in the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University’s Bloomington Campus.He wrote seminal books on queer film theory and gay culture and was working at the time of his death on a project about contemporary film melodrama, as well as articles about Marlene Dietrich, Elizabeth Taylor and Alfred Hitchcock.He left behind his mother, Rosanna Doty, brothers Arthur and Robert Doty and sisters Barbara Braudaway and Maria Holmes.In a victim impact statement read to the court by Mr Byrne, Ms Holmes said: “We want you, David Thomas, to know that the family of Alexander Doty are heartbroken with the loss of their brother and son. Nothing you can do or say will bring him back but we do know that my brother would want you to take responsibility for what you have done which you have and then make something of yourself and change and influence others to understand the importance of not drinking and driving.”Mr Froomkin urged Mr Justice Greaves not to send Thomas to jail.Thomas told the judge he is “extremely remorseful” about what happened. He added: “I hold myself to a very high standard. For me to make an extremely poor judgment on that evening is really something that doesn’t sit well with me. If I can do anything to help others not to make the same mistakes going forward, I’m happy to do that.”Besides jailing him for 15 months, the judge imposed a two year driving ban to commence upon his release from custody.