Death toll raised to five following deadly high-speed chase on I-10

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WILCOX, Alabama — The death toll now stands at five following a high-speed chase that ended in a head-on collision Monday afternoon on Interstate 10.

Officials with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency reported Thursday afternoon that 81-year-old Joseph L. Andrews of St. Simons Island, Georgia, has died from injuries sustained when the 2018 Ford Escape he was driving hit head-on with a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu traveling the wrong way while fleeing from a Baldwin County Sheriff’s Deputy.

Andrews had been airlifted to University Hospital in Mobile for treatment of serious injuries. His son, 54-year-old Kevin J. Andrews of Milton, Florida, was pronounced dead at the scene. Both men were using seat belts, according to an ALEA release issued Tuesday.

The crash occurred at approximately 1:49 p.m. Monday, after a deputy with the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office attempted to stop the Malibu traveling east bound on I-10 at the 49-mile marker, approximately four miles west of the Wilcox exit. The stop was for a moving violation the deputy witnessed, according to a BCSO release issued Monday.

The suspect vehicle accelerated attempting to out run the deputy. The vehicle exited I-10 at the Wilcox exit and reentered the interstate west bound. The vehicle then exited the interstate and went south bound on the Baldwin Beach Express. The vehicle did a U-turn on the Baldwin Beach Express and reentered the interstate west bound.

The deputy continued to try and stop the vehicle as it continued west bound. The suspect vehicle did a U-turn on the interstate and drove east bound in the west bound lane at a high rate of speed.

The deputy lost sight of the suspect vehicle as it continued to drive into oncoming traffic. The suspect impacted the Escape head-on as it was traveling west bound.

The suspect vehicle rolled over the guard rail and caught fire in the outside median of the interstate. The driver and both passengers inside the fleeing vehicle were pronounced dead at the scene, according to the ALEA release.

On Friday, ALEA officials released the name of one of the passengers in the Chevrolet, 34-year-old Crystal Lee Moradie of Converse, Texas. The driver and another passenger in the vehicle have not yet been identified.

The fiery crash resulted in the closure of both lanes of westbound I-10 for a little more than four hours as crews worked to clear the scene, according to Tuesday’s release.