Justin Whaley on the witness stand
photo by Brent McDonald, See Video on NewsChannel 9
At the end of a highly emotional hearing on Monday, former EMT Justin Whaley was sentenced to serve nine years in state prison for the wrong-way traffic death of James Brumlow on July 2, 2018.
He had faced 8-12 years in prison after a Criminal Court jury found him guilty of vehicular homicide by intoxication and other charges.
Judge Boyd Patterson said he agreed with several witnesses who said Whaley, of all people, should have known the dangers of drinking and driving after working many tragic wrecks in the very section where the accident happened on Highway 111.
Whaley was taken into custody after his conviction in late October of last year and has been in jail since.
Attorney Lee Davis said the defense is almost ready to file a motion for a new trial. A March 11 hearing date was set.
He said he believes the appeal has merit and asked that Whaley be allowed bond during the appeal. He said the appeal is expected to go to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals and could take a lengthy time. He said perhaps Whaley would have served the time prior to a final appeal ruling.
Whaley is eligible for parole consideration after serving 30 percent of the term.
Judge Patterson denied the bond request, but said Whaley would be kept in a local jail until the March 11 hearing.
Several Brumlow family members blasted Whaley and said they did not want to hear an apology from him. However, a sobbing Whaley said, "I am sorry from the bottom of my heart."
He said he had "spent my life helping people" only to make a mistake in judgment that took a life.
Whaley, who operates a shooting range in Van Buren County with 14 employees, said he thinks of the victim every day. He said, "I was the one who messed up. I know that. I have known that from the beginning. I should have been the one who died."
He said he plans to serve his sentence "with honor and dignity," then return to a career "of service to others."
His wife, Heather, said both families have been "devastated" by the tragedy. She said as soon as her husband learned the address of the victim's family he wrote them a letter of apology.
She said her husband "has told me many times that he wishes he was the one who was killed."
Brumlow family members described the victim as a loving family man with a sense of humor. His oldest son said his father was on his way to work a new job when he hit the Whaley vehicle head on at the bottom of Highway 111 just before the merger with U.S. 27.
He said he and other family members cannot get the vision of seeing the victim after the wreck out of their minds.
Of an apology, he said, "We could care less. We don't want to hear it."
Another son said he was away in the military when "I was pulled aside and told by a stranger that my father was dead."
He told the defendant, "You know better than anybody else what drinking and driving can do."
On the night prior to the wreck, Whaley had been with a friend tasting bourbon samples at the top of Retro Hughes Road. His plan was to sleep it off at the friend's house, but he woke up early and left the house shortly after 5 a.m. when it was still dark.
The victim's mother-in-law told Whaley, "I hope the rest of your life is a living hell.'
The baby sister of the victim said she was stocking at the Soddy Daisy Walmart when she encountered Whaley in the store. She said she went to the family bathroom "and I screamed." She said she saw him several times afterward and has suffered bouts of depression since.