Alyssa Ridenour
reporter@greenepublishing.com
Thirty-five-year-old Tanner M. Welch was the driver responsible for the wreck that claimed the life of 61-year-old Army Veteran and First Sergeant Eddie T. Smith. On Friday, Dec. 21, 2018, Welch was intoxicated while driving a 2018 Ford Edge SUV rental. He openly admitted to speeding, and witnesses claimed to have noticed him driving recklessly.
Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) reported to Perry Newspapers that at approximately 2:29 p.m. on that day, Welch was traveling on Colin Kelly Highway, headed southbound when he struck the rear bumper of a Hyundai Genesis, driven by 71-year-old Earnest Rains, Jr. of Madison. The collision caused Rains' vehicle to travel into the lane of northbound traffic, where he collided with the driver-side quarter panel of the 1994 BMW 318is, driven by Eddie T. Smith. A Toyota 4Runner, driven by 38-year-old Juan Carlos Rosado Colon, was traveling behind Smith and struck the rear passenger quarter panel of Rains' car. It was determined that Welch's blood alcohol level was over double the legal limit of 0.08 grams.
All four drivers were then transported to Madison County Memorial Hospital, where Smith was declared deceased. Rains sustained serious injuries from the wreck, and Colon had minor injuries. Welch was uninjured by the collision.
Charges were filed against Welch. However, the Smith family hit a bump in the road during the juducual process. Welch was in the Army, and not long after the wreck, he was deployed to Germany. The Army was notified of his warrant and the crash. FHP Corporal Shipman contacted the U.S. Army for assistance in detaining Welch and sending him back to the States to stand trial. However, they did not initially indicate that they would comply with the request.
Welch has finally been dealt justice for the wreck that took the life of Smith. On Wednesday, Feb. 24, Welch stood trial and pled guilty to one count of DUI-manslaughter and four counts of property damage and personal injury resulting from a DUI. He pled no contest to vehicular homicide, which was later dropped.
Welch's bond is set at a total of $100,000. He has been fined $5,000 and ordered by the court to pay $24,567 in restitutions to Smith's wife. In addition to this, he will pay $468 in court costs and $100 for the cost of prosecution. Welch's driver's license has been revoked for life, and he will spend 15 years in a department of corrections (DOC) facility, with a four-year minimum mandatory period. He has nine days of jail credit and was also sentenced to 364 days in a county jail, which will run concurrent with his DOC sentence.