Alabama State Troopers have identified four people who died in a single-vehicle crash Sunday afternoon on Georgetown-Chunchula Road in Mobile County, an accident that claimed the lives of three adults and a teenager.
According to Trooper Jamie Maloy, the crash happened around 3:10 p.m. roughly two miles west of U.S. 45 and about 10 miles north of Prichard. Troopers say a 1990 Dodge Ram van left the roadway, overturned, and struck a tree along the rural stretch of road.
The driver, 50-year-old Michael W. Weatherspoon of Chunchula, was pronounced dead at the scene. Three passengers also died: 38-year-old Crystal Dawn Cassity of Chunchula, 41-year-old Melvin Louis Sowell of Chunchula, and 14-year-old Teresa Sowell of Mobile. Troopers noted that Cassity and the teenager were not wearing seat belts at the time of the crash.
Georgetown-Chunchula Road is a two-lane rural route that winds through the northern reaches of Mobile County, connecting small unincorporated communities to U.S. 45 and other major roadways. The stretch where the crash occurred is bordered by wooded areas and has seen periodic serious accidents over the years, prompting some residents to call for improved signage and shoulder maintenance along the corridor.
Alabama State Troopers said the investigation into the exact cause of the crash was ongoing, with no additional details released beyond the preliminary account of the van leaving the roadway. Investigators typically examine factors such as vehicle condition, roadway design, weather, and driver behavior when reconstructing a fatal crash of this nature.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, which oversees the state trooper division that responded to the crash, routinely reminds motorists in rural Mobile County of the importance of seat belt use, noting that unbelted occupants are significantly more likely to be killed or seriously injured when a vehicle leaves the roadway or rolls over.
News of the crash rippled through the small Chunchula community, where multiple members of the same extended family were among the victims. Community members in the area have historically rallied around families affected by tragedies on the region’s rural highways, though no formal memorial plans had been announced in the immediate aftermath.
Traffic fatalities involving multiple family members are relatively rare in Mobile County, and the crash added to a somber tally of highway deaths reported across South Alabama’s rural roads in recent years. State troopers continued to ask the public to drive cautiously on unlit, undivided rural routes such as Georgetown-Chunchula Road, particularly during weekend travel.