A Haywood County jury on Tuesday found Brandon Sensabaugh guilty of vehicular homicide in the 2022 crash that killed 23-year-old Matthew Bond, bringing a multiyear investigation to a close on Highway 179 near the Stanton-Koko Road area. Prosecutors said the case leaned heavily on crash reconstruction and toxicology evidence to show what happened in the moments before impact. Sensabaugh now faces a lengthy prison term when he is sentenced later this summer, and prosecutors say any new time will run consecutive to an existing Tipton County case. After the verdict, the district attorney’s office publicly extended condolences to Bond’s family.
According to District Attorney Frederick H. Agee, the jury’s decision capped a prosecution team effort. Agee announced the verdict and credited Assistant District Attorneys Nina Seiler and Jacob London with trying the case. In his post, he added, "Our hearts go out to the family of Matthew Bond."
How Prosecutors Built the Case
At trial, prosecutors told jurors that crash reconstruction and forensic testing tied Sensabaugh to the driver’s seat and showed his vehicle crossed into Bond’s lane at high speed before the collision. The Tennessee Highway Patrol’s Critical Incident Response Team helped reconstruct the crash and supplied the physics and math analysis used in court, according to Tennessee Highway Patrol CIRT. Under state statute, vehicular homicide by intoxication can be charged as a Class B felony with a statutory sentencing range that can reach up to 30 years in prison, per Justia.
In District Attorney Frederick H. Agee's post, the office said Sensabaugh was driving about 106 miles per hour when his vehicle entered Bond’s lane, causing a violent impact that killed Bond on January 6, 2022. Sensabaugh tested positive for cocaine, marijuana and alcohol, according to the post, and jurors also convicted him of DUI (second offense), driving on a revoked license (third offense) and reckless driving. The office said sentencing is set for June 29, 2026, and prosecutors noted that any new prison term will run consecutive to a pending Tipton County probation-revocation sentence related to an attempted firearm possession conviction.
Legal Implications
Because prosecutors pursued intoxication as a factor, Sensabaugh was tried under a vehicular homicide charge that carries a potential range of 8 to 30 years in prison, depending on offender classification and sentencing enhancements. Judges weigh a defendant’s criminal history against those statutory ranges when setting a term, and consecutive sentences tied to probation revocations can significantly increase total time behind bars. Legal analysis of Tennessee vehicular homicide penalties points to long license revocations and substantial prison exposure even for defendants with limited records, a framework that highlights how the Tipton County revocation could lengthen Sensabaugh’s overall sentence, per Davis & Hoss.
Sentencing is scheduled in Haywood County Circuit Court on June 29, 2026. Prosecutors say the verdict delivers a measure of accountability for Bond’s death, and now his family and the wider community will wait to see how much time the court ultimately imposes.
