OSU Crash: Oklahoma Woman Charged With Second-Degree Murder for OSU Homecoming Car Crash
A woman is being charged with four counts of second-degree murder after she drove her car into a crowd at a Oklahoma State University parade, killing four and injuring dozens more.
Reuters reports that a judge set a $1 million dollar bond for 25-year-old Adacia Chambers, accused of plowing her Hyundai Elantra into a group of onlookers at the school's homecoming celebration in Stillwater last Saturday. The crash was caught on cellphone video and circulated online.
The four victims included a former OSU professor and a 2-year-old toddler. Forty-seven people were reported to be injured, with eleven under the age of thirteen. Several people were sent to the hospital for injures, with four in critical condition.
The judge also granted Chambers a psychiatric evaluation at the request of her lawyer, Tony Coleman, who believes his client to be mentally unstable.
Coleman told CNN that he detected no signs of alcohol consumption from Chambers and that her failed sobriety test led officers to think she was "impaired." He also said her emotionless and flat responses to his questions indicated something was wrong.
Her lawyer also told reporters that mental illness ran in her family and that "there have been warning signs coming from Ms. Chambers for quite some time, for the past few years." She allegedly had a history of suicidal attempts and her father said she had sought mental health treatment in the past.
"I just want people to know that Adacia is a kind, loving, caring person, and she wouldn't have done this purposely. I just don't believe that in my heart," said her father, Floyd Chambers, to CNN.
Prosecutors argued that Chambers acted deliberately.
"Based upon the Probable Cause Affidavit and information presented by the police, the state believes the acts alleged demonstrate a depraved mind and indifference to human life," said Payne County District Attorney Laura Thomas. "The evidence suggests this was an intentional act, not an accident."
Authorities identified the deceased victims as 65-year-old married couple, Bonnie and Marvin Stone, 23-year-old Nikita Nakal and 2-year-old Nash Lucas.
Marvin Stone was a retired OSU professor and researcher. His wife Bonnie had worked for the university for over 30 years.
Nakal was a MBA student from Mumbai, India. She was studying for her master degree at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond.
Nakal and the Stone couple were killed at the scene. Young Lucas, who was the son of an OSU sophomore, died later at the hospital.
Chambers is set to appear in court again on Nov. 13.
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