Lindale man who killed stepson in DUI wreck sentenced

♦ Joey Lee Floyd is sentenced to serve 15 years in prison for felony first-degree vehicular homicide and other charges.

It was Dylan Jackson’s 17th birthday and his stepdad had been drinking a lot that day, but promised to buy him a video game.

They got into his 2003 Infinity G35 and went to the Walmart on Cartersville Highway to pick up the gift. Dylan drove there, Assistant District Attorney Kevin Salmon said, but ground the gears a little bit. On the way back his stepdad, Joey Lee Floyd, said he was going to drive.

It was getting late on April 17, sometime between 10:30 and 10:50 p.m., when Floyd pulled out onto 411 and headed toward the Ledbetter Interchange. Salmon said Jackson’s cousin testified that when they got into the interchange, Floyd tapped his shoulder to show him they were doing 120 mph. That’s when the fun stopped.

The Infinity went off a rise in the median, striking at least one guardrail, and Salmon said it went airborne for 67 feet and the car then traveled much farther, rolling for a total of 94 yards.

Jackson was killed after being ejected from the vehicle and striking a guard rail. Floyd and another teenage passenger only suffered from minor injures. Floyd’s blood alcohol content was 0.186 at the time.

“This is a matter of Joey Floyd’s ego overloading his abilities,” Salmon said.

At minimum, Floyd had four to six 25-ounce beers in a relatively short period of time before driving, Salmon said. Jackson’s cousin also testified Floyd had attempted to get him to leave the scene and lie to police, he said.

Floyd was arrested and charged with felony first-degree vehicular homicide as well as DUI, reckless driving and other traffic citations. His trial began Monday and a jury came back with a verdict of guilty on all counts Tuesday afternoon.

“It’s always tough to try a case where somebody loses their life,” Salmon said. “Especially when they’re a child an lose their life on a birthday.”

During his sentencing, Floyd expressed regret for his actions that night and said he hoped Jackson’s family could forgive him. Judge Billy Sparks sentenced Floyd to serve 15 years in prison — citing several reasons including a long record of driving violations.

The problem with cases like this where someone thought what they were doing was fun, District Attorney Leigh Patterson said, especially after a couple of drinks, is the damage is permanent.

“You can’t take it back.”