Huntsville man sentenced to 30 years in prison after injuring Lowell officer in crash

A Huntsville man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for injuring a Lowell police officer in a crash.

Jerry Henington, 38, pleaded guilty on Monday to battery, fleeing, unauthorized use of property to facilitate a crime, two counts of criminal mischief, leaving the scene of a personal injury accident and resisting arrest.

Henington originally also had attempted first-degree murder, possession of a controlled substance and driving while intoxicated charges. Those were not included in the amended criminal information.

Henington was also charged as a habitual offender.

Lowell police responded to a hit-and-run accident on North Dixieland Street and West Monroe Avenue around 5:50 p.m. on June 14, 2023.

Minutes later, officers found Henington and his vehicle. Lowell police said in a news release that Henington had already hit a motorist on the roadway, fled the scene and tried to hide in a subdivision.

As a second officer approached the subdivision, Henington “exited at a high rate of speed and hit the officer in a T-bone type collision,” according to the release.

Dashcam video shows the moment Hennington collided with the officer’s vehicle.

An affidavit claims the officer was targeted in the collision.

The officer was taken to a nearby hospital for multiple fractures and torn ligaments in one of his hands, according to the affidavit.

The vehicle’s owner reported to police that Henington was an acquaintance and had stolen the vehicle from her, the affidavit said.

Henington and his codefendant Tye Sutton, 18, were later taken into custody.

Sutton pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance in October 2023 and was sentenced to six years of probation in November 2023.