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Written by: A. Smith
Published October 1, 2025 @ 11:05 AM ET
Update #2: Former Buchanan mayor and ex–Georgia State Patrol trooper A.J. Scott was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years, with 10 to serve in prison, for a 2013 crash that killed two teenage girls. The sentencing came on the 10-year anniversary of the victims’ funerals.
The decision by Superior Court Judge Erica Tisinger followed emotional testimony from grieving families who said they had waited years for justice, as well as from Scott’s supporters who urged the court to show leniency.
Scott was previously convicted on five of six counts, including two felony counts of serious injury by vehicle and two misdemeanor counts of second-degree vehicular homicide.
Prosecutors sought a 30-year sentence, while Scott’s defense asked for six years, arguing that would be consistent with other cases.
Pre-sentence investigators had recommended 20 years with 10 to serve, along with community service and restitution to be paid to the victim’s families to cover medical expenses.
Scott remained in custody following the hearing.
Update #1: On Wednesday, a Carroll County jury convicted Buchanan Mayor and former Georgia State Trooper Anthony “A.J.” Scott on five of six charges in the retrial of a deadly 2015 crash that killed two teenage girls and injured two others.
Scott, 40, was found guilty of one count of homicide by vehicle in the second degree, two counts of serious injury by vehicle, reckless driving, and speeding. He was acquitted on a separate homicide by vehicle charge. The convictions came after jurors deliberated for about 15 hours over two days, during which they asked to review dash camera footage from Scott’s patrol car and body camera video from first responders.
The case has drawn widespread attention for nearly a decade, with families of the victims pressing for accountability and questioning how Scott has continued to serve as mayor while facing felony charges.
After the verdict, the mothers of 17-year-old Kylie Lindsey and 16-year-old Isabella Chinchilla said they finally felt a measure of closure. Chinchilla’s mother described the years of waiting for a verdict as agonizing but not without hope.
Scott was taken into custody inside the courtroom as the verdict was being read. He could face up to 30 years in prison when sentenced.
A sentencing date has not yet been set.
CARROLL COUNTY, Ga. – Nearly a decade after a high-speed crash killed two teenage girls, Buchanan Mayor and former Georgia State Trooper Anthony “A.J.” Scott is back on trial.
Scott, 30 at the time of the wreck, is charged with vehicular homicide, reckless driving, speeding, and serious injury by vehicle in the Sept. 26, 2015 crash on Highway 27 near Holly Springs Road, outside Bremen, that killed 17-year-old Kylie Lindsey and 16-year-old Isabella Chinchilla and left two others injured.
Troopers said Scott was driving 90 mph in a 45-mph zone before slowing to 65 mph at the moment of impact. He collided with a car carrying four teenagers. Scott later told investigators he was on his way to retrieve his radio from another trooper. He was not using lights or sirens at the time and was not responding to an emergency.
The Georgia State Patrol fired Scott shortly afterward. He was indicted in 2016, but a 2019 trial ended in a mistrial after a judge ruled prosecutors failed to disclose evidence. During that trial, jurors were unanimous on lesser charges of speeding and reckless driving but deadlocked on the more serious counts of vehicular homicide and serious injury by vehicle. The disputed evidence involved a theory from two state troopers that the teenagers killed may not have been in the backseat at the time of the collision.
Three weeks after the mistrial, Scott won the election as Buchanan’s mayor, an office he still holds.
The Georgia Supreme Court later cleared the way for Scott to be retried.
Dash-cam footage captured the crash, which appears to show the victim’s vehicle and body-camera audio recorded Scott telling another officer afterward, “I was making the left turn right there.” When asked, “And you didn’t see him?” Scott replied, “I saw them, I tried to… I went right when I should have went damn left because they were making that left.”
The victims’ families have pressed for accountability for years, saying Scott should not hold public office while facing felony charges.
Scott’s conduct as mayor has also drawn scrutiny. In 2022, Buchanan officials commissioned an outside internal affairs investigation after incident reports described late-night, alcohol-related encounters — including a request for a ride home from a bar and a separate interaction in a city park. No disciplinary action was taken by the city council.
Jury selection for Scott’s retrial wrapped up this week in Carroll County Superior Court. If convicted on all counts, he could face up to 30 years in prison.