A Theodore man is set to stand trial in Mobile County Circuit Court on murder charges stemming from a 2012 crash on Interstate 65 that killed a Citronelle couple, according to court records.
John Derek Anthony Lopez, 39, faces two counts of murder in the Oct. 26, 2012, deaths of James Barber, 74, and his wife, Lorine, 65, both of Citronelle. The couple died when the Ford F-150 James Barber was driving struck the back of a crane Lopez was operating on the General W.K. Wilson Memorial Bridge, the stretch of I-65 that spans the Mobile River delta.
According to an accident report, investigators determined Lopez had used methamphetamine before beginning his trip that day. The report states he showed several indicators of impairment during field sobriety testing and initially refused a chemical test of his blood, though a sample was later obtained. A state trooper testified to those findings during a 2013 court hearing.
Investigators said the crane, traveling around 15 mph, began slowing as it climbed an incline on the bridge. A separate vehicle traveling between the crane and the Barbers’ truck had to swerve into another lane to avoid a collision. The crane came to a stop just off the roadway, and as the Barbers’ truck approached, its driver attempted to brake and swerve around the stopped crane but was unable to avoid the collision, according to the accident report.
The report states Lopez told investigators he was having trouble shifting gears and that his vehicle rolled to a stop on the bridge. Inspectors found no mechanical defects with the crane that would have contributed to the crash.
The case has moved slowly through the court system in the more than two years since the crash, with pretrial hearings addressing evidence including the blood sample taken from Lopez. His trial is now scheduled to proceed in Mobile County Circuit Court, where prosecutors will attempt to establish that his impairment directly caused the fatal collision.
The General W.K. Wilson Memorial Bridge carries heavy commercial and commuter traffic across the Mobile River delta as part of I-65, and fatal crashes involving stopped or slow-moving vehicles on the span have periodically raised safety concerns among regular commuters. The outcome of the Lopez trial is expected to bring some resolution for the Barber family and the broader Citronelle community more than two years after the couple’s deaths.