A 25-year-old woman accused in the deaths of four people at the Oklahoma State homecoming parade is scheduled to appear in court today — and her legal team may already be laying the groundwork to mount an insanity defense to keep her out of prison.
Adacia Chambers was initially arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after the crash Saturday morning in Stillwater that also injured dozens of people. But late Sunday, police said Chambers was also being held on four counts of second-degree murder for the deaths of three adults and a toddler.
Chambers, of Stillwater, OK, is scheduled to appear Monday in Payne County District Court.
Under Oklahoma law, second-degree murder charges are warranted when someone conducts an act that’s “imminently dangerous to another person” but does so without premeditation. Each count is punishable by at least 10 years in prison.
But Tony Coleman, Chambers’ attorney, is already trying to argue that his client is mentally incapacitated.
He said at a news conference in Oklahoma City that he believed his client suffers from a mental illness and that there was no indication that she was drinking before the crash. Police are awaiting blood tests to determine whether Chambers was impaired by drugs or alcohol.
“I absolutely can rule out alcohol,” Coleman said.
He said he spoke with Chambers for about an hour.
“During that entire interview, I was not satisfied at all that I was communicating with a competent individual,” Coleman said.
Konda Walker, an OSU graduate who was in Stillwater with her sister to celebrate homecoming, said she was only about 50 feet from the crash scene.
She said it took her a few seconds to process what had happened. There were bodies and injured people lying “all over the place,” Walker said.
“One woman was a crumpled mess on the road. They turned her over and started CPR. We realized she didn’t make it,” she said.
Among the injured were nine children 10 years old or younger.
At the corner of the intersection where the suspect’s car came to a stop, a makeshift memorial grew Sunday with balloons, flowers, stuffed teddy bears and candles with black and orange ribbons tied around them, for the school’s colors. A handmade sign read, “It’s always darkest before dawn. Stay strong.”
Hundreds gathered for a vigil at the campus Sunday night.
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The Associated Press contributed to this article.
How does one post a comment too quickly ????????
My guess is we type too fast. Received same message on a post last week (only my 2nd post on this site). This is my 3rd post, and I am trying to type more slowly.
I just had the same thing happen to me. Maybe we’re trying to say something that other people don’t want to hear.
I have no idea why that message comes up period, but it’s happened to me quite a few times now… I found that if you just hit the back arrow at the top of your screen it will take you back to your original message…Then you just submit your comment again….Otherwise, you’ll lose your comment and have to retype all over again…Have a blessed day !
I think they should ban cars as “weapons dangerous to the public”.
They would love to do that!
Sarcasm approved.
and why not the Oklahoma License Plate on her car.?? With the Socialist banned everything we should also Ban Young Women Drivers, that are Blonde.
WHY IS IT WHEN PEOPLE ARE DRIVEING DRUNK OR ARE ON DRUGS AND THEY KILL PEOPLE THEY FIND THEM INSANE AND ALL THEY DO IS SMACK THERE HANDS AND TELL THEM DONT DO IT AGAIN, YOU KNOW THIS COUNTRY NEEDS TO WAKE UP ,IF YOU GO OUT AND KILL AND IT DOSENT MATTER IF IT IS A VEHICLE ,A GUN OR WHAT EVER THEY KILLED SOMEBODY THEY SHOULD BE PUNISHED TO THE FULLEST AND THAT DONT MEAN HOME DETITION WITH A MONITER EITHER;SORRY BUT THIS IS THE TRUTH AND THATS THE WAY I SEE IT, THESE FAMILY’S AREN’T GOING TO SEE THERE LOVED ONES EVER AGAIN, GET MY DRIFT !!!!!!!!!
DAMN right
Her father said she was a really nice person and didn’t drink or do drugs. Couldn’t he see she was a raging lunatic like her lawyer
is trying to say. If he wants to try to say that she should be locked up for life as she is not fit to live in puplic as she may go off at any time and kill again.
So are we going to start a “car control” bill now?
This woman doesn’t need to be allowed to roam as a free person. She took the lives of innocent people.
It may be time to revive the old “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk” slogan and modify it to “Friends don’t let mentally ill friends drive.”
Except on the EAST Coast
This is a proposal for how we need to fix these laws about impaired driving.
First: The main issue is the injured and dead people. The defendant (or the insurance company) should first have to compensate the victims and heirs (in the cases of the deceased);
Second: The “crime” of impaired driving and all its relatives (drunk driving, drugged driving, etc.) should be eliminated as criminal classifications. These just present excuses for the misbehavior;
Third: The fines should be eliminated. These do nothing to compensate the injured parties;
Fourth: Charge the defendant with second-degree murder, and prosecute her only for that. Do not set up a system whereby plenty of other charges are rolled into this case (like the DUI); this is a ridiculous attempt to force a plea;
Fifth: Find a jury that will convict the defendant after finding her guilty.
I know this will ensure that I am never picked for the jury in this case, but this breaks down the reasons why our criminal codes have become a horrible joke.
How does this incident sit with the damn fool DemonRATS that want to hold gun manufacters liable when one of their guns is used in a shooting? Using that absolutely unbelievable bull — it,then it follows that CAR manufacturers should be held liable when one of their cars is involved in a traffic death. Stunning “logic” right? How absurd can you be? Just check with your nearest DemonRAT and see if they can justify such absurdity. Not likely to happen.