A Columbus man was sentenced Thursday to eight years in prison for manslaughter in connection with a three-car collision that resulted in one death.
Joseph Tailor Gwathney, 21, of Columbus pleaded guilty in Lowndes County Circuit Court. Judge Lee “Jay” Howard sentenced him to eight years in prison followed by four years of supervised release, according to Marc Amos, assistant district attorney.
Gwathney was remanded into the custody of the Lowndes County Jail to await transfer to the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
Gwathney and his cousin, Dustin Gwathney, were indicted for manslaughter in 2021 by a Lowndes County grand jury following the Aug. 23, 2020, crash that killed Sheldon Campbell, 45, of Starkville.
The crash occurred on Wilkins-Wise Road when the cousins were racing in separate vehicles, Amos said. Dustin Gwathney lost control of his vehicle and swerved into oncoming traffic, striking Campbell’s car. Joseph Gwathney’s vehicle then also struck Campbell’s car.
Campbell died on the scene from blunt force trauma. His fiancee, who was a passenger in the vehicle, was airlifted to a hospital in Birmingham, Alabama.
Amos said a second passenger in Joseph Gwathney’s car provided key testimony during the trial confirming that the two cousins were racing, which led to the fatal crash.
Dustin Gwathney has also pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced later this week, Amos said.
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