Danita Taylor was shocked when she saw a publicity photo generated by Spalding County sheriff Darrell Dix last week that depicted him with newly sworn deputy Terry Belvin. Belvin was a Barnesville police officer when he hit and killed Taylor’s son, Justen Shenard Sullivan, with a police cruiser while running in excess of 90 mph. on May 16, 2014.
Another man, Quenton Byrd, 21, of Forsyth was also struck and killed. A third person narrowly missed death. Sullivan died on his 25th birthday.
At the time, Belvin said he had terminated a chase of a suspected DUI driver and was not operating his emergency lights. He was southbound on Ga. Hwy. 7 when he topped Dozier Hill at a high rate of speed at 1 a.m. and hit the pedestrians who died instantly. They were crossing the four-lane near Reliable Mart when they were hit.
The incident was investigated by the state patrol’s SCRT team. Trooper Brandon Stone presented the case which included a video of the entire incident to the jurors who issued a no bill, according to district attorney Jonathan Adams who was not in office at the time.
Belvin voluntarily gave up his POST certification and the family was told he would never work in law enforcement again. Multiple media outlets, including The Herald Gazette, reported that information as well.
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