Driver Sentenced In Wreck That Killed Clinton Firefighter

BYRAM, Miss. - WAPT.com

The man accused of killing a Clinton firefighter and his wife pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter in court Monday.

Christopher Spell was sentenced to 20 years on each count, court officials said.

Investigators said Spell had alcohol in his system, but was under the legal limit, when his truck collided with the couple's car in August 2007.

Fire Capt. Eddie McGowan and his wife, Vicki, died in the Byram crash near Siwell Road and Interstate 55. Their two teenage daughters survived.

Family members said justice has been served, even though it has been difficult coping with the death of the couple.

"No words can describe that to you. It has been a long, hard struggle," said Vicki McGowan's sister Melinda Wood.

Eddie McGowan worked for the Clinton Fire Department for 15 years. His fellow firefighters described the family as friendly and fun.

"They both loved their girls. They'd come up and bring pizza and sit together at the kitchen table and eat together as a family a lot," Chief Deputy Tim Shanks said.

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