Maniac sticks out tongue as he surrenders to cops months after allegedly killing dad, injuring mom and daughter in head-on crash

A maniac stuck out his tongue for his mugshot months after he allegedly fatally struck a father and severely injured his wife and young daughter in a harrowing head-on collision on a Tennessee roadway.

James Brewington Jr., 61, surrendered to cops last Thursday, roughly eight months after allegedly killing Dustin McLeod, 41, in a crash on Clarksville Pike, according to the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.

James Brewington Jr., 61, surrendered to cops eight months after allegedly killing dad Dustin McLeod, 41, in a head-on collision in November 2025. Metropolitan Nashville Police Department

Brewington was driving southbound on Bobel Lane in November 2025 when he tried to go around a vehicle making a right turn and swerved into oncoming traffic, cops said.

He smashed his Nissan Titan pickup truck head-on into a Jeep Renegade that McLeod, his wife, Ashley, and their 8-year-old daughter, Dakota, were inside — on their way to put up Christmas lights for an older relative, according to police and News Channel 5 Nashville.

McLeod, of Smithville, was taken to a hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

Ashley and Dakota survived the crash but suffered serious injuries and spent months recovering, the outlet reported.

The grieving widow said news of her husband’s alleged killer’s arrest helped bring some closure — but called his disturbing mugshot “jarring.”

“I got the message when we were sitting there, and it was kind of a relief, but I hadn’t seen his face until today. So that was a bit jarring,” Ashley told the local news station.

McLeod’s wife, Ashley, and their daughter, Dakota, also suffered serious injuries in the wreck. GoFundMe

The mom suffered an open fracture of her ankle, a broken kneecap, and major lacerations and bruises. She faced a long recovery, including multiple surgeries and extensive rehabilitation, in the wake of the tragic wreck, according to a GoFundMe for the family’s medical and funeral expenses.

Dakota had multiple fractured ribs, a broken right collarbone, a fractured sternum, a small fracture in her neck at the base of her skull, and multiple lacerations and bruises, the fundraiser said.

Ashley horrifically recalled watching her husband’s neck snap in the crash.

“And all of a sudden a car came out in front of us and it just all happened really fast. I just saw like the flash of red and then everything was kind of in slow motion,” she told News Channel 5.

“I watched my daughter’s body like go around her seatbelt. I watched my husband fly forward. And I got hit with the airbag. It knocked the wind out of me for several minutes. And everything was kind of like a blur, but very clear if that makes sense, right after,” Ashley said.

“The car caught on fire and my husband wasn’t responding to me. My daughter was screaming in the back seat,” she added.

Since the devastating crash, the widow said she’s been forced to sublet her home to be able to afford medical bills.

“We’ve been struggling physically, mentally, emotionally, financially,” she said.

Brewington — who was initially hospitalized after the crash — was cuffed on outstanding warrants for vehicular homicide by reckless conduct, reckless endangerment, and three counts of aggravated assault. It’s unclear why he wasn’t immediately arrested and charged.

The twisted jokester appeared disheveled with a scraggly beard and grossly stuck out his tongue in his mugshot as he was booked into jail.

He remains held behind bars on a $135,000 bond.