Turning to face his family, a Williston man offered a jaunty salute Friday after he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for a drunk driving wreck that killed three members of a Denmark family.
Circuit Court Judge Diane Goodstein sentenced 56-year-old Jimmy R. Taylor to 20 years on each of three counts of felony driving under the influence involving death. The sentences are to run concurrently.
“This sentence is very difficult, it is very difficult because of the measure you took from this very large and extended family,” Goodstein said. “I can only imagine those first moments of agony. I know you don’t think you’re the source of that. But you are the source of that.”
Wearing a blue suit, Taylor remained expressionless as his sentence was issued. Throughout his trial, Taylor refused to accept that he caused the crash that killed three people.
Around 8 p.m. on Oct. 21, 2005, Taylor was traveling west on S.C. Highway 70 when his Chevrolet TrailBlazer veered off the right side of the road near the Bamberg County line.
When Taylor brought his vehicle back onto the road, he crossed the center line into the path of a Ford Escort driven by 41-year-old Madison “Matt” Neeley. His father and stepmother, George Phillip “Phil” Neeley, 74, and Anne Price Neeley, 70, were also in the Escort.
Moments later, a second Chevrolet TrailBlazer driven by a Denmark man slammed into passenger’s side of the Ford, which had come to rest in the middle of the road. No charges were brought in the second collision, as the driver did not initiate the crashes.
All three of the Neeleys were declared dead at the scene.
During his closing argument, First Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe said the three most likely died instantly upon contact with Taylor’s vehicle, saying Anne Neeley “went through that thing (windshield) like a bullet through a wall.”
“With one word you can let the defendant know that he will be held responsible,” Pascoe said. “With one word, you can let him know that the lives of George, Anne and Matt meant something.”
A jury of six men and six women spent two hours in deliberations before returning that word – guilty.
Pascoe said afterward that he was “very pleased with the verdict and with Judge Goodstein’s sentence.”
During the course of the three-day trial, defense attorney Everette Chandler introduced multiple theories as to what transpired that night, including the possibility a flat tire caused the accident.
Pascoe maintained in his closing that the case centered on accountability.
“I am disturbed by Mr. Taylor’s not taking responsibility,” he said. “That borders on malice. That’s just not right, getting on that stand and lying.”
Chip Price, Anne Neeley’s son, told Goodstein he wanted to make sure the court understood the victims were more than bodies in graphic pictures.
“The trial ... it mentioned ’the victims’ and ’the bodies,’” Price said. “I just wanted to mention these were real people.”
After the conclusion of the trial, Price talked about his mother and stepfather. He said they had been married for about three years at the time of the collisions.
The two senior Neeleys met as children and, after having gone their separate ways for much of their lives, met again at a flower show in Ladson about 10 years ago. From that point on, they began reacquainting themselves with each other until they married in 2002.
Prior to Taylor’s sentencing, Phyllis Neeley Parker, George Neeley’s daughter, asked the court for “a fair sentence” for Taylor.
The Williston man was facing a maximum of 25 years and a $25,000 fine on each of the three counts.
He will serve 85 percent of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.
“It is my hope that this will close this chapter. For all of you,” Goodstein said to the Neeley-Price families. “I can tell you that the only thing that will make this better is time.”
T&D Staff Writer Richard Walker can be reached by e-mail at rwalker@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5516. Discuss this and other stories on-line at TheTandD.com.