A Theodore man was convicted of felony criminally negligent homicide following a jury trial connected to a 2012 crash on the General W.K. Wilson Memorial Bridge that killed a Citronelle husband and wife, closing out a case that had lingered in Mobile County courts for more than two years.
The 39-year-old defendant was found guilty in connection with the deaths of a 74-year-old man and his 65-year-old wife, both longtime Citronelle residents. The couple died after the pickup truck they were riding in collided with the back of a crane the defendant had been operating on the Interstate 65 bridge spanning the Mobile River area on Oct. 26, 2012.
According to the accident report used in the case, the defendant admitted to using methamphetamine before starting his trip that day and showed several indicators of impairment during field sobriety testing. He refused to submit to a chemical test of his blood at the time of the crash. Investigators determined that he had been driving well below the safe speed for road and traffic conditions and allowed his vehicle to come to a stop directly in a lane of travel, resulting in the fatal collision.
The case underscores the dangers posed by slow-moving or stopped construction and utility vehicles on interstate bridges, where traffic often moves at highway speed with limited opportunity for following drivers to react. The Wilson Bridge, a key link along I-65 in Mobile County, has seen periodic construction and maintenance work over the years that requires heavy equipment to operate in or near active travel lanes.
A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for late February, when a judge will determine the penalty for the negligent homicide conviction. Prosecutors in Mobile County have pursued the case as an example of the consequences of operating heavy equipment on public roadways while impaired.
The deaths of the Citronelle couple sent ripples through their small Clarke-Mobile County border community, where the family had deep roots. Neighbors and relatives had closely followed the case since the crash, hoping for accountability more than two years after the couple’s deaths.
The verdict brings a measure of closure to a case that highlighted ongoing concerns about impaired driving and roadway safety along one of South Alabama’s busiest interstate corridors.