Georgia · Bibb County · Sentencing
Caleb Hendrix Sentenced to 15 Years in Macon Accident That Killed Motorcyclist Michael Burnett
A Macon man pleaded guilty to first-degree vehicular homicide three years after a pickup and a motorcycle collided on Riggins Mill Road. Blood testing found amphetamine and methamphetamine, prosecutors said.
Key facts
- What
- Guilty plea and sentencing in a fatal traffic accident
- Where
- Riggins Mill Road near Herbert Smart Downtown Airport, east Macon, Bibb County
- Accident
- Sunday, July 30, 2023 — reported to Macon-Bibb E-911 at 12:39 a.m.
- Killed
- Michael Burnett, 48, of Macon — the motorcyclist
- Defendant
- Caleb Levi Hendrix, 34, of Macon — the pickup driver
- Plea
- Guilty to first-degree vehicular homicide, entered Friday, Aug. 14, 2026
- Sentence
- 15 years, with the first 10 to be served in custody
- Prosecutor
- Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office
- Investigating
- Bibb County Sheriff's Office
What happened on Riggins Mill Road?
A Macon man has been sentenced for killing a motorcyclist three years ago on a road in the east side of the city, 41NBC reported Monday, citing the Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office.
Caleb Levi Hendrix, 34, pleaded guilty to first-degree vehicular homicide on Friday, Aug. 14, 2026, in the death of Michael Burnett, the station reported.
The accident itself happened years earlier. The Bibb County Sheriff's Office said Macon-Bibb E-911 took the call at 12:39 a.m. on Sunday, July 30, 2023, from Riggins Mill Road near Herbert Smart Downtown Airport.
A Chevrolet Silverado and a motorcycle had collided. Deputy Coroner Lonnie Miley pronounced the rider dead at the scene, and the driver of the truck was not hurt, the sheriff's office said at the time.
Prosecutors have since laid out the direction each vehicle was going: Hendrix was driving the pickup south and Burnett was riding north, 41NBC reported.
What was Caleb Hendrix sentenced to?
Hendrix received 15 years, with the first 10 of them to be served in custody and credit for the time he has already spent in custody, according to 41NBC. The judge additionally required him to undergo substance abuse treatment as a condition of the sentence.
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What did he plead guilty to?
The conviction is for first-degree vehicular homicide. A driving under the influence charge was merged into that single count as part of the plea, 41NBC reported.
That is narrower than the list of offenses the sheriff's office published when it announced his arrest on Nov. 19, 2023, just under four months after the accident. Deputies said then that Hendrix — whose age the agency gave as 31 at the time — was wanted on charges of homicide by vehicle, driving under the influence of drugs, driving on the wrong side of the roadway, and a Superior Court probation violation stemming from a second-degree burglary case. He was held at the Bibb County Law Enforcement Center without bond.
WGXA reported at the time that investigators believed his vehicle had been on the wrong side of the road near Herbert Smart Airport Road.
Who was Michael Burnett?
Burnett was 48 and lived in Macon, the sheriff's office said in the release it issued the day of the accident. He was the rider of the motorcycle.
Investigators found nothing to suggest he played any part in causing the collision, 41NBC reported.
What did investigators find?
Hendrix's own account, given to investigators, was that he had seen the motorcycle near the center line and that his brakes seized as he tried to steer clear of it, according to 41NBC.
The scene did not bear that out, investigators said. What investigators did find pointed a different way: the pickup briefly ran off the pavement, came back onto it, and struck the motorcycle inside Burnett's own lane.
A sergeant trained as a drug recognition expert had noted signs of impairment in Hendrix, and Hendrix consented to a blood draw. The testing that followed confirmed amphetamine and methamphetamine in his system, 41NBC reported.
What did the district attorney say?
Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney Anita Howard issued a statement on the case, quoted by 41NBC. "This defendant got behind the wheel of a truck with methamphetamine and amphetamine in his system, crossed into oncoming traffic, and killed Michael Burnett," she said. "Then he told investigators a story about locked brakes that the evidence at the scene simply did not support. Now a family is without someone they love."
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What we don't know yet
- Which judge accepted the plea and imposed the sentence
- How much credit for time served was applied, and what release date that produces
- What became of the probation violation the sheriff's office listed in 2023
- What form the required substance abuse treatment will take, and whether it happens in custody or after release
- Why the case took three years to reach a plea
Who investigated, and how to reach them
The Bibb County Sheriff's Office worked the accident and assigns fatality investigators to traffic deaths in Macon-Bibb County. Its non-emergency line is 478-751-7500.
The prosecution was handled by the Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office, which covers Bibb, Crawford and Peach counties. Its Bibb County office is on the second floor of the Grand Building at 661 Mulberry Street in Macon, and its number is 478-621-6427.
Frequently asked questions
Who was sentenced in the Riggins Mill Road accident?
Caleb Levi Hendrix, 34, of Macon. He pleaded guilty on Friday, Aug. 14, 2026, according to 41NBC, which attributed the case to the Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office.
What sentence did Caleb Hendrix receive?
Fifteen years, with the first 10 to be served in custody and credit for time already served, 41NBC reported. The judge also ordered substance abuse treatment as a condition of the sentence.
What did Caleb Hendrix plead guilty to?
First-degree vehicular homicide. A driving under the influence charge was folded into that count as part of the plea, 41NBC reported.
When did the Macon accident happen?
Early on Sunday, July 30, 2023. The Bibb County Sheriff's Office said the call reached the Macon-Bibb E-911 Center at 12:39 a.m.
Where on Riggins Mill Road did the accident happen?
On Riggins Mill Road near Herbert Smart Downtown Airport in east Macon, according to the Bibb County Sheriff's Office.
Who was Michael Burnett?
Michael Burnett was 48 and lived in Macon. He was riding the motorcycle, and Deputy Coroner Lonnie Miley pronounced him dead at the scene, the Bibb County Sheriff's Office said.
What did blood testing show?
Amphetamine and methamphetamine were confirmed in Hendrix's system, 41NBC reported, citing prosecutors. He agreed to the blood draw after a sergeant trained as a drug recognition expert noted signs of impairment.
What did Hendrix tell investigators?
He said the motorcycle was close to the center line, and that his brakes seized while he steered to miss it, 41NBC reported. Prosecutors said the physical evidence did not bear that out.
When was Caleb Hendrix arrested?
On Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023, just under four months after the accident. The Bibb County Sheriff's Office said he was booked into the Bibb County Law Enforcement Center without bond.
Which agency investigated the accident?
The Bibb County Sheriff's Office, which assigns fatality investigators to traffic deaths in Macon-Bibb County. Its non-emergency number is 478-751-7500.
Who prosecuted the case?
The Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office, led by District Attorney Anita Howard. The circuit covers Bibb, Crawford and Peach counties.
Sources
Compiled by The Local Alert Georgia Staff from named news outlets and Bibb County Sheriff's Office releases, each linked above. The Local Alert is not a law enforcement agency and not a law firm. Corrections and removal requests: see our corrections policy.
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