MACON — A Middle Georgia man was sentenced Tuesday to 12 years in prison after he admitted to driving recklessly on Christmas Day 2021, crashing into an SUV and killing a 6-year-old boy.
The reason he was speeding? He told police he didn’t want to be late for a holiday dinner with his family.
The wreck happened on a country road a couple of miles from I-75 southwest of Macon.
James Bucky Hammock, 41 at the time, was at the wheel of a 2011 Ford pickup, zooming past cars in his lane, at one point running one of them off the road, prosecutors said. A couple of motorists called 911 to report him. He crashed soon after.
Ahmad Hill, 6, was riding in a Chevrolet Tahoe with his father and 10-year-old brother. They were bound for a Christmas gathering of their own when Hammock plowed into them as they turned, crossing his path.
In Bibb County Superior Court on Tuesday, Hammock, who is from neighboring Peach County, pleaded guilty to first-degree vehicular homicide.
Prosecutors didn’t say how fast Hammock had been traveling when he struck the Tahoe, just that the SUV rolled over on impact.
“Why was he speeding?” Hammock’s attorney, Becky Wilcox, said at Tuesday’s hearing. “It’s so simple it’s ridiculous. … He’s trying to get home. It’s Christmas Day. His family eats. You’re supposed to be there between 12 and 12:30. It was 11:50. … Yes, that makes it more tragic, your honor. This is Christmas Day, and we end up with a situation where because of some bad decisions and some speeding, we’ve got an accident that causes the death of a child.”
Credit: Bibb County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Bibb County Sheriff's Office
Wilcox proposed a five-year prison term for her client.
“He acknowledges that he made some bad decisions. … He’s also weighed down with some guilt that he can’t ever get rid of,” she said.
Ahmad’s mother, Tammie Hill, addressed the court and said her family still was grieving.
“Sometimes,” she said, “I don’t know how to feel. I miss my baby.”
She later recalled how Ahmad was bright, how he started walking at 10 months and how he was spiritually aware. She said he was a quick learner and had the highest reading scores in the entire first grade class at Bernd Elementary.
As she stood before Judge Connie L. Williford, Tammie Hill, who styles hair and has in the past worked at Walmart and been a manager at Dollar General, turned her attention to Hammock.
“He deserves all the time (in prison), the max time,” she said. “He doesn’t deserve the chance to get out and live his life.”
She paused, collecting her thoughts.
“Let me calm down before I say the wrong thing,” she said.
Hammock could have received a 15-year prison term had he been found guilty in a trial.
Prosecutor Doron Dvorak, in arguing for a 12-year stint behind bars for Hammock, said Ahmad’s death was senseless.
“He didn’t get to enjoy that Christmas,” Dvorak said. “He was air-flighted (to a hospital). Six years was all he had alive because of the actions of Mr. Hammock. (Hammock) was more interested in being at Christmas dinner than he was in just exercising a little bit of due care. There’s a dead 6-year-old because he was speeding. … Ms. Hill will not have her son. … There are no more Christmases, there are no more holidays, there are no more birthdays.”
Speaking of Hammock’s sentence, he added, “Twelve years to serve is a gift.”
When it came his turn to speak, Hammock said little.
He offered an apology “for the family’s loss, for any responsibility I might have had in this.”
