Macon man sentenced to four years in prison for vehicular homicide

A Macon man was sentenced Friday to four years in prison for the deaths of a woman and their infant daughter when he failed to yield to a train in 2012.

Willie Frank Lyons Jr., 49, was found guilty at trial last month of two counts of vehicular homicide, running a stop sign, reckless driving and violation of a child safety restraint. The jury deliberated for two days before reaching its findings.

On May 27, 2012, Donnell Reid, 31, and her 1-month-old daughter, Kinsley, of Macon, were killed after a train stuck a Chrysler PT Cruiser that Lyons was driving. Lyons, the child’s father, was trying to cross the Ignico Drive railroad crossing in Warner Robins. Lyons recovered from serious injuries that required hospitalization.

Judge George Nunn also sentenced Lyons to 11 years probation. Lyons was given first offender status, meaning his convictions will come off his criminal record if he successfully completes the terms of his probation.

Nunn required a special condition of probation of drug offender conditions to include drug testing and warrant-less searches.

Although jurors found that Lyons was not impaired at the time of the crash, Nunn noted that Lyons testified he did use marijuana two days before the crash. Lyons also had two misdemeanor convictions in another state related to driving under the influence.

The emotional sentencing hearing in Houston County Superior Court included statements from family and friends of Donnell Reid and of Lyons.

“I can’t express to you how heavy my heart continues to be,” Robert Reid, Donnell Reid’s father, told the judge.

He expressed emotions of lingering pain, loss, sadness, grief and anger and spoke of dashed hopes, dreams and expectations for his daughter and granddaughter.

Eight days before the crash, Robert Reid said he had the opportunity to hold his granddaughter, but decided not to because she was born premature.

“We have time when she’s bigger than a 5-pound bag of sugar,” Reid recalled telling his daughter that day.

Lyons’ father, Willie Frank Lyons Sr., said Donnell Reid “was just like one of my kids” and that he got to know her when she and his son lived with him for a couple of years in Atlanta.

“It hurts on both sides of the family; Reid family and my family,” the elder Lyons told the judge. “It was an accident.

“Willie would never do anything to hurt anybody, especially Donnell and the baby. That was his life,” he said.

The younger Lyons apologized to the Reid family and asked for their forgiveness. He also asked for mercy from the court and from God.

“I understand that this is the law, and I have broken some laws, but it wasn’t intentionally,” Lyons said. “It wasn’t purposely.

“That was my family. I loved the child,” he said. “I lost my best friend, somebody I had planned on spending the rest of my life with.”

The death of Reid and the infant came on the heels of a string of accidents in recent years and prompted a community push to get a gate installed at the Ignico Drive railroad crossing ahead of schedule. The work was completed on Aug. 1, 2012.

This story was originally published June 3, 2016 at 11:16 AM with the headline "Macon man sentenced to four years in prison for vehicular homicide."