Four people died late Friday night after a driver attempted to escape an Alabama state trooper and crashed into a tree, authorities said Sunday.
The crash happened on a rural southeast Alabama road—Pike County 6628 near Pike County 6627, about nine miles east of Banks—at around 11:57 p.m. on April 3, according to a statement from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency sent to NTD News.
Tykevious D. Russaw, 27, of Eufaula, was behind the wheel of a 2022 Hyundai Elantra when he attempted to flee a trooper with ALEA's Highway Patrol Division. Russaw was not wearing a seat belt when he lost control of his vehicle. Upon crashing into a tree, he was ejected from the vehicle and was later pronounced dead at the scene.
Two passengers—Robert D. Hall, 27, of Clayton, and a 17-year-old juvenile—were also not wearing seat belts. Both were also ejected from the car and pronounced dead at the scene. A fourth passenger, Quamay R. Richardson, 24, also of Clayton, was not ejected but was also pronounced dead at the scene.
ALEA spokeswoman Amanda Wasden said in an email that no other vehicles were involved in the crash, and that the incident remains under investigation.
She did not say what prompted the trooper to initiate the pursuit.
Russaw's death came just months before a major life milestone; his partner, Nova Dorsey, revealed in a Facebook post on April 4 that the couple had been expecting a baby girl.
In a follow up post the next day, Dorsey expressed to her followers the raw grief she is experiencing. "I wanna be so mad at u but I can't," she wrote. "I'll never be able to hear you say it anymore. I'ma miss u holding me with one hand and the other rubbing my stomach."