Nashville’s district attorney has withdrawn his office from a fatal road collision investigation involving a driver who previously pleaded guilty to killing a mother while driving under the influence.
Glenn Funk’s office confirmed its recusal to NewsChannel 5 Investigates after the death of Emily Dollarhide, 35, who was a passenger in a Ford Mustang driven by her husband, Carl J. “C.J.” Dollarhide, 31. Police have not announced charges arising from the latest collision, which remains under investigation.
What happened in September 2026?
According to the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, the Mustang collided with a Dodge Ram pickup truck that had begun making a U-turn on Ashland City Highway on 19 September. The preliminary investigation found that the Mustang was travelling at a high rate of speed.
Emily Dollarhide died at Skyline Medical Center on 25 September. Police announced her death the following day. Her husband was uninjured, while the 63-year-old pickup driver, Gary Pinson, suffered injuries that were not life-threatening.
Police said there were “no indications of impairment” among those involved. NewsChannel 5 reported that C.J. Dollarhide was not tested for alcohol. The police assessment should not be described as a definitive toxicology finding, nor does the 2015 conviction establish alcohol use in 2026.
Investigators also said Emily Dollarhide was sitting on her seatbelt, while her husband was wearing his. That is a reported circumstance, not a final determination of how the collision occurred or which factors caused her death.
The 2015 conviction and sentence
In June 2015, Dollarhide crossed into oncoming traffic on Clarksville Pike in Joelton and struck a vehicle carrying 29-year-old Stacy Thornton, her children and others. Thornton was killed and her 10-month-old daughter, Maddie, was paralysed.
Dollarhide later pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide by intoxication and vehicular assault. In 2016, he received a sentence of three years in custody followed by eight years of probation, with a prohibition on driving during that probation. NewsChannel 5’s contemporary reporting records the plea and sentence.
In 2021, a judge rejected an application by Dollarhide, represented by his uncle Bryan Lewis, to have his driving licence reinstated while on probation. At the time, a prosecutor described the enduring consequences for Thornton’s daughter. Tennessee law had also been tightened after the original case to restrict probation for intoxication-related vehicular homicide.
Why did the district attorney step aside?
Funk was the district attorney when the earlier plea agreement was approved. In the latest investigation, his office has confirmed that it will not handle the case.
In a statement reported by NewsChannel 5, a spokesperson said: “This office has recused itself from the Dollarhide case” and would make no comment on the current matter or the earlier criminal history.
The office did not explain the precise grounds for recusal. NewsChannel 5 reported that police were awaiting a replacement prosecutor. A recusal is not, by itself, proof that the previous plea agreement was improperly handled.
Political connections and the earlier plea agreement
Dollarhide’s father, Carl Dollarhide III, is a retired senior Nashville police officer. NewsChannel 5 reports that several prominent figures, including retired federal judge Robert Echols and singer Brenda Lee, wrote to the sentencing judge in 2016 in support of leniency.
The sentence and those representations have long been questioned by Stacy Thornton’s family. The existence of letters from influential individuals is relevant to public scrutiny, but it does not establish that the court or prosecutors acted improperly.
Civil lawsuit after Emily Dollarhide’s death
Emily Dollarhide’s parents have brought a civil action following her death. NewsChannel 5 reports that the claim names C.J. Dollarhide and his father and alleges that the elder Dollarhide was negligent in buying the 2025 Ford Mustang for his son.
The complaint shown in the station’s report also names pickup driver Gary Pinson. These are allegations in civil proceedings; they are not findings of liability, and the lawsuit is separate from any possible criminal prosecution.
What we know
- The September collision occurred on 19 September 2026, and Emily Dollarhide subsequently died from her injuries.
- Police say the Mustang was travelling at high speed and that their investigation continues.
- C.J. Dollarhide has an earlier conviction for a separate, alcohol-related fatal collision in 2015.
- Glenn Funk’s district attorney’s office has confirmed that it has recused itself from the latest case.
- Emily Dollarhide’s parents have filed a civil lawsuit arising from the collision.
What we don’t know
- Whether investigators will recommend any charges in relation to the September collision.
- Who will be appointed to act as prosecutor and exactly why Funk’s office recused itself.
- What conclusions investigators will reach on speed, right of way, seatbelt use and the actions of both drivers.
- How the civil allegations will ultimately be determined by the court.
The families behind the case
Two women died in collisions involving the same driver more than a decade apart. Stacy Thornton’s daughter, Maddie, lives with the consequences of the first collision; Emily Dollarhide’s family is now pursuing answers through the courts.
In NewsChannel 5’s report, Maddie described herself as a survivor, not a victim. Her grandmother, Becky Thornton, questioned the earlier sentence and called for accountability. Those views are important testimony from a family affected by the 2015 offence, but they do not prejudge the outcome of the new investigation.
