MOBILE, Ala. — A 23-year-old Mobile man is facing a felony charge of attempting to elude law enforcement after police say he refused to pull over on Interstate 65 early Monday morning and then lost control of his car and slammed into a retaining wall near the interstate’s junction with Interstate 10. No one was hurt in the crash, according to the Mobile Police Department.
The pursuit and crash happened in the pre-dawn hours of Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, along one of the busiest highway corridors in south Mobile. The driver, identified by police as Camdyn Stoudemire, 23, was taken into custody at the scene and booked into Mobile County Metro Jail, where he remained confined after his arrest.
The case is among the first in the Mobile area to unfold under Alabama’s tougher eluding law, which took effect less than a week earlier, on Oct. 1, 2026, and which makes fleeing police in a vehicle a felony.
What Mobile police say happened
According to the Mobile Police Department, officers tried to initiate a traffic stop at about 2:40 a.m. Monday in the area of I-65 South and Government Boulevard. Instead of pulling over, the driver kept going.
Officers followed as the driver continued south on Interstate 65 toward Interstate 10, police said. The chase did not last long. Investigators said the driver lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a retaining wall in the area of I-65 South near I-10 East.
Mobile Fire-Rescue and emergency medical services responded to the crash scene. Police said neither the driver nor any of the officers involved was injured.
The crash briefly blocked lanes in the area while emergency crews worked the scene, according to reports from the morning of the incident.
Police have not said why officers first tried to stop the vehicle, how fast the vehicle was traveling during the pursuit, what kind of vehicle was involved or how far the chase went before the crash. Those details had not been released as of Tuesday.
The charges against Camdyn Stoudemire
Stoudemire was arrested on traffic charges and a felony charge of attempting to elude law enforcement, according to Mobile police. Jail records cited in local reports list the eluding count as a Class C felony. Police did not specify which traffic offenses he faces.
He was booked into Mobile County Metro Jail following the crash. Local reports said he was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday for a bond hearing.
An arrest and a charge are accusations, not findings of guilt. Stoudemire is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty in court. It was not immediately known whether he has an attorney who could comment on his behalf.
Key facts at a glance
- When: About 2:40 a.m. Monday, Oct. 5, 2026
- Where the stop was attempted: I-65 South near Government Boulevard in Mobile
- Where it ended: A retaining wall on I-65 South near the I-10 East interchange
- Driver: Camdyn Stoudemire, 23, of Mobile
- Injuries: None reported to the driver or officers
- Responding agencies: Mobile Police Department, Mobile Fire-Rescue and EMS
- Charges: Felony attempting to elude law enforcement (listed in jail records as a Class C felony) and traffic charges
- Custody: Mobile County Metro Jail
A new, tougher eluding law took effect days earlier
Monday’s pursuit came just four days after a major change in how Alabama punishes people who run from police took effect.
Gov. Kay Ivey signed Senate Bill 233 into law in April 2026, and the state’s new eluding penalties became effective on Oct. 1, 2026. Sen. Lance Bell sponsored the legislation in the Senate, and Rep. Reed Ingram carried it in the House, where he had pushed the issue for years. Ivey had named the bill a priority in her State of the State address.
Before the change, attempting to elude a law enforcement officer was generally a Class A misdemeanor in Alabama. The law allowed felony charges only in specific circumstances — for example, when a fleeing driver struck another vehicle or a pedestrian, injured someone or crossed into another state — and repeat offenders faced no baseline jail sentence.
Under the new law, using a vehicle to elude law enforcement is a felony. The legislation also increases penalties for people who flee with children in the vehicle, who strike officers or their vehicles, or who commit the offense while out on pretrial release, and it sets mandatory jail time for repeat offenders.
When she signed the bill, Ivey said that “too often when criminals attempt to flee law enforcement, they put the safety of innocent bystanders, officers and even themselves at great risk,” adding that penalties “for those who recklessly evade law enforcement must be strengthened.”
Bell said the measure “takes a strong stand against those who recklessly attempt to elude law enforcement,” and that by “imposing tougher penalties – particularly for repeat offenders – we are sending a clear message that this dangerous behavior will not be tolerated.”
Ingram called the signing “a major step in keeping Alabama families safe.”
Police and court records available so far do not explain which provision of the law led to the Class C designation in Stoudemire’s case. Those details typically become clearer as a case moves through the courts.
What the felony classes mean in Alabama
Alabama sorts felonies into classes that carry different sentencing ranges. A Class C felony in Alabama is punishable by one year and one day up to 10 years in prison. The more serious Class B felony carries two to 20 years. Actual sentences depend on many factors, including a defendant’s criminal history and the facts of the case.
State law also requires a judge to suspend the driver’s license of anyone convicted of eluding for at least six months and up to two years.
Alabama law makes one notable exception: a driver who continues at or below the speed limit, with or without hazard lights on, while intending to stop at the nearest safe place is not committing the offense. Police and safety advocates say that if a driver is unsure whether a vehicle signaling them to stop is a real police car — especially at night — slowing down, turning on hazard lights, calling 911 to confirm and pulling over at a well-lit public location is the safe and lawful approach.
Why police pursuits are so dangerous
Pursuits on interstates carry particular risks. Interstate 65 and Interstate 10 are the two major highways serving the Mobile area, and the interchange where they meet funnels traffic between the city, the Causeway, Baldwin County and points west toward Mississippi. Even in the middle of the night, commercial trucks and other motorists travel the corridor, and a crash at highway speed can easily involve uninvolved drivers.
In Monday’s case, the only collision was with a retaining wall, and no one was hurt — an outcome emergency responders often describe as fortunate. When Ivey signed the new law, she noted that in a single week shortly before the bill signing there had been at least three such incidents in Alabama, including one that killed an Alabama driver and three of his passengers.
The Mobile area has seen a number of pursuits end in crashes in recent weeks. In September, a driver was hospitalized after a police chase ended in a multi-vehicle crash near Old Shell and McGregor; another chase ended when a stolen car plunged into Dog River; and a juvenile was charged after a stolen-vehicle chase ended in a crash with a police cruiser.
What happens next
After an arrest in Alabama, a defendant generally makes an initial court appearance, where a judge reviews the charges and sets or reviews bond conditions. Local reports said Stoudemire was due for a bond hearing Wednesday.
Because attempting to elude is charged as a felony in this case, it would ordinarily be handled in Mobile County’s court system, where felony cases can be presented to a grand jury. The grand jury decides whether there is enough evidence to return an indictment and send the case to circuit court. The traffic charges would proceed alongside the felony count.
Police have not announced whether any additional charges are expected or whether anything was found in the vehicle after the crash.
What we know and what we don’t
What police have confirmed:
- The time and location where officers tried to make the stop and where the crash happened.
- The driver’s name and age and that he was arrested and taken to Metro Jail.
- That the driver lost control and struck a retaining wall.
- That no one, including officers, was injured.
- That he faces a felony eluding charge and traffic charges.
What has not been released:
- Why officers attempted the traffic stop.
- The vehicle’s speed and the distance of the pursuit.
- The make and model of the vehicle.
- The specific traffic charges and any bond amount.
Southalnews will update this story as more information becomes available from the Mobile Police Department and court records.
Anyone with information about this incident can contact the Mobile Police Department. Tips may also be submitted anonymously through Mobile Area Crime Stoppers.
