Chase Wayne Mackey was sentenced on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, to six years in prison at 100% service after pleading guilty in connection with a fatal single-vehicle crash that occurred on August 14, 2025.

The collision took place on Bell Road in Cumberland County when Mackey, driving a 2006 Chevrolet Silverado at an estimated speed of 80 mph, lost control of the vehicle and crashed sideways into a tree. The passenger, 19-year-old Zackary Ray Heylek, sustained fatal injuries and died at the scene.

Investigators and Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers reported that Mackey smelled of alcohol and admitted to drinking. While a blood-alcohol test taken four hours after the crash registered 0.07%, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation estimated Mackey’s blood-alcohol concentration was 0.15% at the time of the collision.

Originally facing a grand jury indictment for vehicular homicide by intoxication and an alternate count of vehicular homicide by recklessness, Mackey ultimately entered a guilty plea leading to Tuesday’s sentencing.