A Starkville man has been indicted for manslaughter in connection to a 2018 wreck near downtown Starkville that left a Clay County woman dead.
Jimmy Andrew Sims was initially charged with manslaughter-culpable negligence and aggravated assault after the wreck in March on Starkville’s Lampkin Street, on the stretch of road between Russell Street and South Montgomery Street.
Oktibbeha County Circuit Court records show Sims was indicted by the grand jury on only the single count of manslaughter as the January term begins.
According to court documents, Sims knew the vehicle he was operating had been faulty.
The indictment claims Sims was driving the vehicle “at speeds up to and over 93 miles per hour on East Lampkin Street before causing the three-vehicle wreck. Eyewitnesses at the Starkville Daily News office confirmed that the vehicle driven by Sims traveled by the newspaper's office at a high rate of speed moments before crashing.
Three of the vehicles were occupied during the collision and shortly after being taken to a hospital to be treated for injuries, 47-year-old Tonya Michelle Graham, of Cedarbluff, was pronounced dead.
The initial aggravated assault charge stemmed from a juvenile being injured in the wreck.
Sims is currently out on $35,000 bond and his attorney is Marty Haug.
District Attorney Scott Colom’s office will prosecute the case.
In a matter seemingly unrelated to the manslaughter charge, Sims was arrested by the Starkville Police Department in early January for public drunk, a misdemeanor offense. He made bail for that arrest and was released shortly after being booked in the Oktibbeha County Jail.
Prior to his arrest last spring, Sims had no felonies on his record in Oktibbeha County.
If found guilty of manslaughter, Sims could face up to 20 years in prison, according to Mississippi Code § 97-3-25.
It is unclear at this time when Sims’ case will go to trial.