On April 11, 2016, Michael Blake Tillery was driving on Highway 292 in Toombs County when his vehicle left its lane of travel and struck a bicyclist. The cyclist, Bunji Mark Takaya, was riding to work at Walmart at the time of the collision. Although Takaya was transported to a local hospital, he succumbed to his injuries shortly thereafter.
For years, the prevailing narrative has been that Takaya was traveling in Tillery’s lane and that the crash was unavoidable. However, a review of the complete case file suggests the circumstances may not have been so clear-cut.
At the time of the crash, Tillery served as Chairman of the Toombs County Board of Commissioners and was a partner at Smith Tillery, PC, a law firm co-owned by Tommy Smith, who now serves as a Superior Court judge in the Middle Judicial Circuit. Tillery was also a candidate for Georgia State Senate District 19, seeking to replace then-Senator Tommie Williams, who had endorsed him as his successor. Tillery is now a candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia.
The crash occurred on a Monday morning at approximately 7:30 a.m. By Thursday of that same week, Tillery had returned to the campaign trail, attending Wayne Dasher’s annual law enforcement gathering in Glennville.
According to the case file, text messages were sent and received on Tillery’s phone in the moments leading up to and at the time of the crash. Toxicology results also indicated that Tillery had taken dextromethorphan, a cough suppressant, that morning and had been operating on very little sleep, according to his interview with investigators.
Tillery was never criminally prosecuted for Takaya’s death. After the investigation concluded, the case file was forwarded to Heyward Altman, the elected District Attorney for the Middle Judicial Circuit, for review. Altman ultimately transferred the matter to state court for misdemeanor prosecution, where the maximum penalty for the most serious offense is a $1,000 fine and up to 12 months in jail. Tillery faced only minor traffic offenses.
In 2016, a civil lawsuit was filed, which ultimately resulted in a settlement, but very little has ever come of the acts contributing to Takaya’s death.
Key Takeaways from the Case File
- Tillery and Takaya were traveling in the same direction at the time of the crash and Tillery hit Takaya from behind.
- Takaya was traveling near the right edge of the roadway between the fog line and shoulder
- 7:43 a.m. – Collision occurs between Tillery’s Lincoln MKZ and Takaya. A witness hears a loud impact and sees the cyclist thrown onto shoulder.
- Also at 7:43 a.m. – A text message was sent by Tillery at the exact time of the crash as it is listed on the GSP report based on the forensic phone download of Tillery’s phone.
- 7:43:50 a.m. – A 911 call is made
- 8:36 a.m. – Takaya is pronounced dead at Meadows Regional Medical Center in Vidalia.
- No alcohol or drugs were found in Takaya’s system.
- One witness who was traveling behind Tillery reported that the vehicle in front of Tillery swerved out of their lane to safely pass Takaya just before Tillery hit Takaya.
- GSP concluded that Tillery’s vehicle failed to maintain his lane and Tillery did not pass the bicyclist with the required 3-foot safe distance.
- Investigators concluded the collision occurred because Tillery drifted from his lane rather than safely passing Takaya.
- In many cases, this would constitute a Homicide by Vehicle – 2nd degree charge (a misdemeanor), but case law in Georgia would also support a Homicide by Vehicle – 1st degree charge (a felony) based on Reckless Driving due to Tillery texting at the time of the crash.
- On January 5, 2017, less than a week before Tillery was sworn in to the Georgia State Senate, D.A. Heyward Altman announced publicly that Tillery would not face felony charges.
- The Georgia Department of Public Safety destroyed the case file approximately five years ago “in accordance with their records retention policy,” despite the crash involving a fatality.
What’s Below
- Case File Part 1 – GSP SCRT Report p. 1-100
- Case File Part 2 – GSP SCRT Report p. 101-211
- Crash Investigation Photos
- Interview with Blake Tillery with Transcript
- Interview with Brandie Renell Kirkland with Transcript
- Interview with Gerald Harrison with Transcript
- Interview with Matthew Scott Russell
- Interview with Stephen Gordon with Transcript
- Transfer Letter from then-District Attorney Heyward Altman
Note: Transcripts were drafted using software and may contain errors. Full audio recordings are published for true and accurate reflection of the record. Any redactions made on audio recordings were made by the Middle Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office and not TheGeorgiaVirtue.com
NOTE: PDFs are large and may require ‘refreshing’ the page to fully load.
CASE FILE PART 1
CASE FILE PART 2
CRASH PHOTOS
