On Monday, April 18, 2022, Michael Don Shepherd entered a guilty plea to 3 counts of Vehicular Homicide by intoxication and one count of evading arrest in a motor vehicle. He received an effective 24-year sentence to serve in prison.

On January 26, 2021, Michael Don Shepherd had been driving recklessly on Interstate 40 and had an outstanding warrant for his arrest. He chose to flee from a law enforcement officer driving his truck at high speeds recklessly and endangering others. While exiting the Interstate during morning rush hour traffic, he continued to flee through traffic in the City of Cookeville. As his truck approached the intersection of South Willow Avenue, Shepherd ran the red light and crashed into a Nissan automobile which was traveling northbound on South Willow and occupied by Amanda Chatman and her two children, Alexton ( age 4)  and Braydon (age 3). The impact of the two vehicles caused a violent crash causing both vehicles to roll and come to rest on the west side of Willow Avenue.  Amanda Chatman and her two sons Alexton and Braydon were killed in the crash.

 A blood sample from Michael Shepherd was tested at the TBI crime lab. The results of the testing showed that Shepherd had an enormously high level of methamphetamine in his blood at the time of the crash.