Plea expected in OSU crash case
The highly anticipated trial over the fatal Oklahoma State University homecoming parade crash will not happen next week after all.
Instead, the murder case against the driver, Adacia Avery Chambers, is expected to be resolved Tuesday, most likely by a plea agreement, The Oklahoman has learned. The trial was set to begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday with jury selection. On Thursday, Payne County District Attorney Laura Austin Thomas declined to comment about a possible resolution, saying only, “I would plan to be there on Tuesday if you are interested.”
Chambers, now 26, of Stillwater, is charged with four counts of second-degree murder and 42 counts of assault and battery by means or force likely to produce death. All counts carry possible sentences of up to life in prison.
Her attorney, Tony Coleman, doesn’t dispute that she was the driver who crashed through police barricades and into a crowd about 10:30 a.m. Oct. 24, 2015, at Main Street and Hall of Fame Avenue. Four spectators died, and dozens were injured.
Coleman, though, had given notice that he planned to raise the question of mental illness or insanity at the time of the offense. The defense attorney didn’t return phone messages Thursday.
In Oklahoma, defense attorneys rarely have had success with presenting the insanity defense to juries. Prosecutors sometimes, though, will agree a defendant is insane. In those cases, the defendant is sent to the state hospital in Vinita for mental treatment rather than prison.
Even if Chambers has a plea deal, she still could face trial eventually if the judge doesn’t approve it. Chambers also could change her mind beforehand about accepting a deal.
Chambers told a witness immediately after the crash she was trying to kill herself and “wanted to be free,” according to prosecutors. She later said she was suicidal at the time and has been treated in the past for mental health-related issues, police reported.
In November 2015, forensic psychologist Shawn Roberson reported Chambers suffered from bipolar disorder and is at risk to harm herself or others if released without psychiatric treatment.
Roberson reported Chambers was “confused and highly focused on religious issues,” including that she believed she was to marry Jesus and God.
A judge later ordered Chambers be committed to a mental health facility in Vinita for further psychiatric evaluation. She was determined competent to face trial by a judge in December 2015 after another evaluation found she could now assist her attorneys in her defense.
Last month, a judge denied Chambers’ request to move the trial out of Payne County. She claimed “widespread pretrial media publicity” would deny her a fair trial.
Killed in the crash were Marvin Stone, 65, a retired OSU professor; his wife, Bonnie Stone, 65, an OSU employee; Nikita Nakal, 23, a University of Central Oklahoma graduate student; and Nash Lucas, 2, the son of an OSU student.
A husband and wife from Skiatook filed separate personal injury lawsuits against Chambers exactly one year after the crash.
The couple are seeking more than a million dollars in damages.