A motorist from Forest Park, Georgia, who five years ago on Valentine’s Day hit and killed two men stopped on the roadside off Interstate 185 in Columbus, pleaded guilty to multiple charges Monday.
Superior Court Judge Maureen Gottfried sentenced him to 10 years with four to serve in prison and the rest on probation.
Darion Tyrell Mitchell faced misdemeanor homicide by vehicle charges in the deaths of Lee Edward Heath of Phenix City and Anthony Jensen of Columbus. Both were fatally injured in the crash that happened around 5 a.m., Feb. 14, 2018.
Jensen had stopped to help Heath, whose car had run out of gas on a “collector road” where vehicles exiting the J.R. Allen Parkway merge onto the northbound lanes of Interstate 185.
Among those speaking at the sentencing was Heath’s daughter, who said her father had ordered flowers to be delivered to her on that Valentine’s Day. They arrived after she learned he had died in the crash.
Mitchell, 35, faced one felony charge of making a false statement to police, for using his brother’s identification and signing his brother’s name to a police form advising him of his rights. Besides two counts of homicide by vehicle, his other misdemeanor charges included driving while his license was suspended, improper use of a driver’s license, and giving police false information.
He was represented Monday by attorney Anthony Johnson, who said Mitchell otherwise had violated no traffic laws in the fatal crash. He was not impaired, speeding or driving recklessly, Johnson said.
Police said Heath, 47, had pulled over and called for roadside assistance when his 2011 Toyota Tundra ran out of gas. Jensen, 32, who worked for the Columbus business Pop-A-Lock, had come in a Toyota Prius, parking off the interstate’s right shoulder and walking over to help Lee put gas in the truck, officers said.
Mitchell, who had been visiting a friend here, was going toward I-185 north on his way back to Forest Park, his attorney said.
“He’d just woke up and was getting ready to head home,” Johnson said.
Heath and Jensen were standing by Heath’s pickup when Mitchell’s Nissan slammed into the truck’s left rear and hit both men, then wrecked off the side of the road, investigators said.
Johnson said Mitchell had thought he saw someone coming across the road from his left, and abruptly swerved right before striking the pickup.
Mitchell agreed to a plea deal Johnson negotiated with Assistant District Attorney Kimberly Schwartz.