A Tennessee man accused of causing a deadly head-on crash appeared to mock the moment in his booking photo, sticking out his tongue months after the collision that killed a father and left the man’s wife and young daughter badly hurt.
James Brewington Jr., 61, turned himself in to authorities last Thursday, about eight months after he was accused of killing 41-year-old Dustin McLeod in a wreck on Clarksville Pike, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said.
Police said Brewington was traveling south on Bobel Lane in November 2025 when he attempted to pass a vehicle that was making a right turn, crossing into the path of oncoming traffic.
His Nissan Titan pickup then crashed head-on into a Jeep Renegade carrying McLeod, his wife, Ashley, and their 8-year-old daughter, Dakota, as the family was headed to help hang Christmas lights for an elderly relative, according to police and News Channel 5 Nashville.
McLeod, who lived in Smithville, was rushed to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Ashley and Dakota survived, but both sustained serious injuries and faced months of recovery after the violent crash, the station reported.
Ashley said learning that the man accused in her husband’s death had been arrested offered a measure of relief, though seeing his unsettling mugshot left her shaken.
“I got the message when we were sitting there, and it was kind of a relief, but I hadn’t seen his face until today. So that was a bit jarring,” Ashley told the local news station.
The mom suffered an open fracture of her ankle, a broken kneecap, and major lacerations and bruises. She faced a long recovery, including multiple surgeries and extensive rehabilitation, in the wake of the tragic wreck, according to a GoFundMe for the family’s medical and funeral expenses.
Dakota had multiple fractured ribs, a broken right collarbone, a fractured sternum, a small fracture in her neck at the base of her skull, and multiple lacerations and bruises, the fundraiser said.
Ashley horrifically recalled watching her husband’s neck snap in the crash.
“And all of a sudden a car came out in front of us and it just all happened really fast. I just saw like the flash of red and then everything was kind of in slow motion,” she told News Channel 5.
“I watched my daughter’s body like go around her seatbelt. I watched my husband fly forward. And I got hit with the airbag. It knocked the wind out of me for several minutes. And everything was kind of like a blur, but very clear if that makes sense, right after,” Ashley said.
“The car caught on fire and my husband wasn’t responding to me. My daughter was screaming in the back seat,” she added.
Since the devastating crash, the widow said she’s been forced to sublet her home to be able to afford medical bills.
“We’ve been struggling physically, mentally, emotionally, financially,” she said.
Brewington — who was initially hospitalized after the crash — was cuffed on outstanding warrants for vehicular homicide by reckless conduct, reckless endangerment, and three counts of aggravated assault. It’s unclear why he wasn’t immediately arrested and charged.
The twisted jokester appeared disheveled with a scraggly beard and grossly stuck out his tongue in his mugshot as he was booked into jail.
He remains held behind bars on a $135,000 bond.
