Inmate killed in van crash was likely restrained
Terry Irvin
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By Matt Elofson
Published: July 23, 2008
A Dothan man was likely restrained as he traveled inside a Houston County Sheriff’s transport van in the moments before the van crashed into what authorities have called a dump truck. But it’s unclear whether Terry Lamar Irvin, 39, was wearing a seat belt during the crash that took life Tuesday night.
A Houston County Sheriff’s corrections officer was driving Irvin back to Houston County for a court hearing when the crash happened not far from Kilby Correctional facility where Irvin was serving time for a felony drug conviction.
Sheriff Andy Hughes said the corrections officer, Michael Shelley, 25, of Dothan, suffered minor injuries, including a cut to his arm, a broken rib, and a mild concussion. Hughes said the officer’s father, Mickey Shelley, the Abbeville Police Chief, planned to return the officer home after he was released from Baptist
Medical Center East in Montgomery on Wednesday morning.
Hughes said Irvin had a pending first-degree robbery hearing scheduled for at the Houston County Courthouse Wednesday. Hughes said the Houston County Jail commander and a county investigator were sent to the crash scene Tuesday night.
“It was not a head-on collision,” Hughes said. “It was kind of a side to front collision.”
Alabama state troopers are investigating the crash, that also left the driver of the truck injured. No details of how the crash happened have been released.
Hughes said it’s unclear whether Irvin was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. But he said the van had bench style seats behind the driver’s seat.
Hughes said the inmates traveling in transport vans normally are restrained with a belly chain, which their handcuffs are attached to, along with shackles on their feet.
“We have no specific policy that addresses putting a seat belt on them,” Hughes said.
Hughes said by state law Irvin would not be required to wear a seat belt while he traveled in the back seat of the van.
Dorris Teague, a spokesperson for the Alabama Department of Public Safety said the crash involved a 2000 Freightliner, which Teague described as a dump truck. The truck’s driver, John Michael Rice, 56, of Prattville, also suffered injuries during the crash, but Teague did not know the extent of the injuries.
A third vehicle, a 1995 Nissan Maxima, was also struck during the crash, but no one was injured.
The crash happened around 7:20 p.m. on Alabama Highway 110 at Pike Road. Shelley had recently picked up Irvin at Kilby Correctional Facility for a transfer back to Houston County. The wreck occurred not far from the prison.
Brian Corbett, a spokesperson for the Alabama Department of Corrections, said Irvin was serving a six year sentence for felony first-degree possession of marijuana, and two counts of obstruction of justice false identification. Corbett said Irvin was sentenced on the charges on Nov. 26, 2007, and had served eight months and 27 days in prison before the fatal crash. Corbett said Irvin would have been released from prison on Nov. 22, 2009.
“He was going back to the county for court,” Corbett said.
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Reader Reactions
Posted by ( damselflygrl ) on July 28, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Geo, as far as the comment that no one is thinking of this man’s family. I have read back on all comments & I do believe that there has been many of us who have commented on the loss, including myself!!
No one will give you those answers you ask for or demand. I’m sure everyone on here has lost people in their lives & have come up with the same questions you pose. I have asked the same questions myself when I look @ my son’s face everyday. Who will be there for him when he grows up & needs a man’s guidence? Who will stand by his side when he gets married? Not his father, because he’s gone! I raise my son alone, just as Mr. Irvin’s wife will raise her child alone. She will look @ her child & see his face. She will cry & question every choice she makes in regards to her child. She will be lonely, sad, depressed, & fearful of her future. How do I know, because I’ve been there!!!! SO no one is more understanding about what this woman is going through then someone who has gone through it!! Some of us rather not talk about personal things to make our points!
As far as what he was in jail for, I really don’t care. He made mistakes that he had to handle for himself. NO one on here even mentioned the reason for his incarceration.
Also no even was trying to make a “right out of a wrong,” this debate is about law enforcement speeding with or without reason. I don’t take things people say on here personally, I enjoy a good debate & intelligent conversation. Even if it requires questions outside of the box we shelter ourselves in. No one is trying to upset the families involved, we are debating an issue that was raised. That’s why it’s called a debate, people talk & voice their feelings on an issue someone else brings up. With no disrespect to the family, but this accident raised this topic for us to debate. As I mentioned before, this accident could be a way to make changes in policies for law enforcement.
Again Geo, we are debating an issue, not your family member!!!!!
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Posted by ( damselflygrl ) on July 28, 2008 at 1:57 am
First of all, I NEVER said it was “alright to be traveling too fast and to run a redlight.” What I said about people driving above the speed limit, it’s a fact!! Someone even posted he was traveling 70 in a 65 when a Newton officer sped past him. We all have driven over the speed limit one time or another, why pretend we haven’t. I live in Newville, where everyday I see people running the stop signs & speeding, but we have NO full-time officer to enforce the laws. We are “loaned” an officer from Headland when he finishes his shift for them. By then all of the guilty people are @ home or work. (Our Chief was severely injured when a drunk driver hit him head-on right before Christmas) So I don’t see why you are complaining about speeding officers, when I see people going 55-65 in a 30 right in front of my house!!!
The sad fact is, a man has died & his family has to mourn his loss. Another man has injuries & will need time to recover. And now someone I have known for over 17 years will have to live with his actions. FYI, I never came out & asked him what happened, I gave him the benefit of the doubt, just as I do with anybody. This accident doesn’t change how I view him or make him any less in my eyes. He is a dear childhood friend & always will be.
I stand by my feelings concerning law enforcement. I have family & friends who work/worked in it. And I viewed it from Bullock County Corrections while I worked there as a nurse. Law enforcement is a tough & thankless job. No one should have to put their lives on the line, but they do! We should all be thankful for their service to us. Some officers take advantage of their badge, but the majority do not. And since I’m not lucky enough to have one of those scanners in my car, they’re just doing their job when they race past me!!
And thanks Mike for clearing the air & putting the facts out for all of us!!
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Posted by ( Geo ) on July 27, 2008 at 10:52 pm
You know as I sit back and read all that is being said about this, no one is even thinking about Mr. Irvins family and I mainly mean his wife and Child that no one seems to be thinking about as well as other family members such as his mother, father and other family members!! Do you think about what his child is going thru, what his wife has to do now that her better half is gone?? All you people keep doing is defending the sistuation and trying to make a right out of a wrong. And who cares what he was in jail for, the fact of the matter is My cousin, friend and well know family man is gone, no longer able to turn his life around because he’s now passed on and all this paper keeps talking bout is his jail record. And I thought everyone is innocent until proven guilty but you want to just keep putting it in the news paper like he has already been proven guilty. And as for the other small charges which we know the law is the law but i’m sure there’s others out there that the law should be going after. But who’s going to support his wife and child, who’s gonna be there to protect his family, to see his child walk when she finishes school, when she moves on to college, who’s going to be there to walk with his daughter when she gets married? Who’s gonna hold his with and tell her everything is going to be alright as she go’s thru her struggle, who’s gonna be there when hes mother needs her son to help her out? Now who has the answer to these questions......right, no one so I dont wanna hear about anything other than the answers to these questions!! Kane, we Love you Man and miss you very much and God has you know and you’ll always remain apert of our lives!!!
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Posted by ( Mike Keevert ) on July 27, 2008 at 5:35 pm
I comment on quite a few articles in this site. I do it without using a pseudonym, you can see exactly who I am. I won’t say anything here that I wouldn’t say to your face. I had my previous comments removed from this article because when I posted them I did so without considering how they might hurt my co-workers. I stand behind everything I said. I knew some of the facts in this instance before they have been released to the public..
if they ever will be “officially” released. The deputy did run the red light, while speeding and talking on his cell phone...facts...no fiction. I have a problem with officers disobeying traffic laws because in my opinion, they do it because they know that there are no consequences to their actions. Except when something like this happens.
I’m not talking about when I see a local police officer driving fast through his town, in his juristiction because I know that he might actually be responding to an emergency. What bothers me is when I see Deputies speeding while transporting prisoners, when I see a Newton officer speeding near Montgomery (like another person commented about here), and when I see several troopers speeding to do security work at Bama Jam, etc, etc. I am a firm supporter of law enforcement, they have a difficult job and are very good at it almost all of the time. The overwhelming majority of them are fine upstanding people. Just thought i’d clear up a few things...thanks and good night.
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Posted by ( mbryant ) on July 26, 2008 at 1:03 pm
I find it very alarming as to how anyone could feel that it would be alright to be traveling too fast and to run a redlight. If it had been an individual that was not an employee of law enforcement then I am sure that person would have been arrested for manslaughter, criminal negligent homicide or some other crime. The deputy was clearly negligent with his actions. For most people that do not know the deputy has immunity for his actions. That is a part of our laws that needs to be changed. They have no reason to not use excessive force, sexually assault, run a red light or any other crime because they have immunity. Less reverse the role for one minute. If Mr. Irvin had been traveling above the speed limit and ran a red light and struck and killed the deputy he would have already been arrested for some form of crime, however, because it was the deputy nothing is happening. I urge the State Trooper and the District Attorney to put htis case before the grand jury. If you recall about 5 or 6 months ago a gentleman was travleing above the spped limit and talking on a cell phone while transporting several military reservist on the military installation at Fort Rucker. If you have any questions about what happened to the driver of the bus call the Coffee County District Attorneys office. The deputy in this case deserves the same treatment. On the day that this accident occurred the deputy had complete disregard for Mr. Irvin and everyone else traveling through that intersection. Just because you are an inmate doesn’t mean that you should not be afforded the opportunity to use a seatbelt. Everyone else had a seatbelt on and survived. Someone needs to assist with justice for this family (Mr. Irvins family)and all of the other individuals that could have been killed.
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Posted by ( damselflygrl ) on July 25, 2008 at 2:47 pm
We are debating this issue because it is law enforcement! If it was someone other than that, this would of been just another article in the paper we read.
From my understanding, the transport van was not equiped with sirens or lights. So there was no way to signify to other motorist. Therefore, you don’t know why this officer was traveling so fast! Things CAN happen with inmates, regardless if there are “chains around his waist with his hands and feet shackled to his waist.” They are not restrained to the bench they are sitting in!! What was going on inside that van for the officer to need speed? Ask yourself that question. Immediately you assume this officer was being careless, irresponsible, or whatever, because of what happened.
Just because you see several law enforcement agencies driving around at high rate of speeds. Why complain about it, if we all occassionally drive above the speed limit? Or weave in & out of traffic? We tend to ignore our own faults to focus on others. You judge others before you have your facts. We all do!!
No one is more upset about this situation, then those lives directly effected by it!! So enough of placing blame on something that can’t be undone! It’s something that Mr. Irvin’s family, the truck driver & his family, AND Michael & his family all have to deal with. None of us, can begin to understand what they are going through at this time.
I wish for Mr. Irvin’s family, the truck driver & his family, and Michael & his family comfort during this time of tragedy. They need support, not criticism!
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Posted by ( davwis ) on July 24, 2008 at 8:40 pm
No one is saying that the officer felt the inmate’s life was any less valuable than anyone else’s. What is being said is that the officer was careless in his driving, which resulted in the death of the inmate. WSFA News said that this was a routine route, so the officer should have been, and I say “should have been”, familiar. If the officer was unfamiliar with the surrounding area, then he should not have been driving so fast and should have been paying attention to all traffic signals. The fact is that he ran a red light and there were no skid marks on the street to signify he tried to stop. This road is regulary traveled by Houston County Sheriff officers, so unless this was his first trip, he should have known the area. I personally do not believe he was distracted by what was going on in the back because there was only one passenger, and that passenger according to this article, was chained around his waist with his hands and feet shackled to his waist. Therefore, the only distraction the prisoner could have posed would be verbal. No one is saying he PURPOSELY ran a red light or that he PURPOSELY killed someone. What is being said is that the Houston County Sheriff’s office routinely speeds without sirens or signals through this area. I understand that sometimes speeding is necessary without warning lights due to the officer not wanting to be detected. However, in my opinion, prison transport would not be one of these reasons. I doubt they were trying to sneak up on the next jail. No one is saying that police officers feel that they can do whatever they want whenever they want without regard to the law. Also, no one is saying that this individual was purposely trying to disobey the law. The facts are that he was speeding, he ran a red light without trying to stop, he caused an accident that killed one person, caused another to have a heart attack, and cause a third to possibly have emotional scarring. Not to mention it made my son have to stay up late for his daddy (me) to come home. Ha! Ha! This may be a fine man, but he made a stupid mistake. And as I previously stated, I do hope he recovers quickly. I also hope something is done about the speeding issue that regularly occurs. Just this morning a Newton police officer passed me carrying a prisoner. I was driving 70 in a 65 and he sped past me with no warning lights or signals, so it is just not Houston County. Don’t get me wrong, I am not against police officers. I have friends and family who are police officers, paramedics, and firemen. I think they do a great job and are an invaluable service. I just think that sometimes, SOME, not saying this officer, feel they are above the law.
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Posted by ( BMOC ) on July 24, 2008 at 7:21 pm
What happened to the first comment posted by Mike? It has disappeared.
He is the one who got this whole arguement started about law enforcement disregarding traffic laws. I read it this morning before I left to pick my mother up at the Montgomery airport. I drove up 231 from Dothan to Montgomery and just north of Troy I was ammazed to see a Newton police car pass me at high speed. I guess Mike was right on point, there is absoluty no reason for a Newton police officer, over 40 miles from home, to be driving that fast. And now I read a comment from someone who was actually at the accident scene. Mike was right again, the deputy DID run the red light...anyone else wonder why we haven’t read this in any newspaper? And what happened to Mikes comment? Makes you wonder.
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Posted by ( damselflygrl ) on July 24, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Has anyone considered that the officer’s attention was diverted because of something going on in the van with the inmate? Could the unfamiliar area have caused the officer some confusion? Was the officer becoming ill while driving? NO ONE has even posed these questions!! “If” he ran the red light as stated by some, it wasn’t intentional! He didn’t have disregard for human life or plan for this accident to happen. This debate would not of come up if he wasn’t an officer, he would of been a regular person who had an unfortunate accident.
Again everyone is so quick to find fault with law enforcement, they never consider what is truely going on inside those vehicles. Some officers are dispatched with orders “No sirens & lights” when racing down roads to a destination. People should not ASSUME that officers are just doing whatever they want because of a badge. And also officers don’t treat inmates with disrespect or deem their lives any less value because of incarceration!
I don’t speak highly of law enforcement because I know Michael, but because I have family who have been in law enforcement. And I have first hand knowledge of what officer’s do, having worked at Bullock County Corrections.
Don’t judge a person based on what they does for a living, but for their character. Because that same person you are complaining about may be the person you need!!
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Posted by ( Larry Log Inn ) on July 24, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Why are there not laws that inmates should use their seat belts? It should be mandated! Seat belts save lives. If the witness will say in court, what he/she says here; Houston County is going to pay the family of the dead inmate a lot of money. This is not using tax dollars wisely.
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