A George County man will spend 60 years in prison after a car crash that caused the death of three children in 2017.
On Monday, 24-year-old Jessie Edward Dickerson pled guilty to three counts of Second Degree Murder and one count of Felony Fleeing Causing Injury. As Lucedale police attempted to pull Dickerson over in March 2017 after it was reported that he was driving with an open beer, he sped off and led police on a chase. While officers backed off, Dickerson continued to speed, and he eventually reached 100 mph with four others in the car.
After leaving city limits, he overcorrected his vehicle in an attempt to avoid a head-on collision with another car and ultimately collided with a store sign. Three children died in the crash, and they were 7, 9 and 16-years-old. Their mother was also injured in the crash, ultimately losing both of her legs and the use of her right arm.
After the crash, Dickerson ran away, but he turned himself in to law enforcement the following day.
District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath make the following remarks after Dickerson was sentenced.
“In just a matter of minutes, a mother lost three of her four children. This was not a tragic accident, but rather a series of choices made by the Defendant that callously and senselessly took the lives of three children. The mother of the children, a victim herself, had taken the defendant in and tried to help him months prior to the collision. The defendant’s choices have left a wake of destruction that none of us can repair. I hope that this 60-year sentence serves justice for this community and sends a message that we will hold criminals accountable for their choices.”
Dickerson was sentenced to serve 40 years on the Second Degree Murder charges and 20 years on the Fleeing charge.
