A newlywed couple in Michigan has been charged after one of their groomsmen was fatally struck by a vehicle hours after their wedding.
Police in Flint responded to alerts of a crash that involved a pedestrian on the 1400 block of E. Hamilton on Friday, Aug. 30, according to a release shared by the Flint Police Department on Wednesday, Sept. 4.
When police got to the scene, they found 29-year-old Terry Lewis Taylor Jr. with “severe injuries.” Taylor was taken to Hurley Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, per authorities.
“Further investigation revealed that earlier that day, Taylor Jr had attended a wedding as a groomsman,” police said. “After the wedding he was involved in an argument which led to him being intentionally struck by a large SUV that was traveling at a high rate of speed and driven by the groom.”
The groom, James Shirah, 22, is charged with second-degree murder. He is being held without bond. His wife, Savahna Collier, 21, is charged with a felony of accessory after the fact.
Collier posted her $4,000 bond on Wednesday, Sept. 4, per the Associated Press.
“I’ve never seen anything quite like this,” Genessee County prosecutor David Leyton told the AP. “I’ve seen people running over other people but not so soon after a wedding.”
Referencing the police report, Leyton noted that the wedding took place at a pizzeria, and there was a dispute at a home afterward.
Taylor was standing in the front of the home, in the street, and was hit by an SUV that Shirah was allegedly driving. Per Leyton, the couple waited a day before going to police, which he said made it “more difficult to unravel what happened.”
Taylor is remembered for his love of music, fishing, riding bikes and four-wheelers, per his obituary shared by the Dodds-Dumanois Funeral Home and Cremation Center, LLC, in Flint.
“Terry enjoyed immensely his music, his children, his family and friends, his dog Kodiak and eating some good food. It was always important to him to have clean teeth and some cologne on,” the obituary added.
As of Thursday, Sept. 5, an attorney has not been assigned to the case, the Genesee County public defender office told the AP.
