Man indicted for murder, DUI after series of crashes on I-65 in May

LIMESTONE COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) – A man charged with murder, assault and DUI following a series of crashes on I-65 in May has been indicted by a grand jury, according to court documents.

The indictment states that John Walter McAdams is charged with one count of murder, six counts of leaving the scene of an accident, one count of driving under the influence and one count of trafficking synthetic drugs.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said that the crash which killed 22-year-old Austin Peay football player William D. Hardrick, happened around 6:40 p.m. on Tuesday, May 6. The agency said Hardrick was killed when the car he was driving was struck by a Peterbilt tractor-trailer driven by 31-year-old John W. McAdams.

Authorities said that after the impact, Hardrick’s car left the roadway, struck a fence, a guardrail, and then overturned. Limestone County Coroner Mike West said the vehicle came to a rest on Piney Chapel Road.

Hardrick was pronounced dead on the scene.

ALEA said that McAdams failed to stop at the scene of the crash and that, before hitting Hardrick’s car, he was involved in a crash that injured a woman. Authorities said that she was taken to Athens Hospital.

The first wreck detailed in the reports happened at mile marker 362, before McAdams hit Hardrick’s vehicle. The report said the wreck happened when the McAdams’ 18-wheeler hit a Nissan Sentra twice before the other car was able to exit the interstate.

The wreck after the one that led to Hardick’s death was at mile marker 353 and involved the 18-wheeler and a Lexus. The report said the 18-wheeler collided with the rear bumper of the Lexus and partially overrode it.

The final wreck happened at milepost 346 near Huntsville Brownferry Road. The report said the wreck occurred when McAdams’s 18-wheeler hit a Ford Bronco in the rear bumper while the Bronco was changing lanes.

Court documents show that McAdams told state troopers that several hours before the crashes, he drank a water bottle that was full of tequila and a scoop of powdered Kratom, which is an illegal substance in Alabama.

“After waking up, he got back on the road but did not remember the specific details of when or why,” the report said. “Field Sobriety Tests were administered, revealing several clues of impairment.”

The report said McAdams was given a breathalyzer test at the Limestone County Jail and got a result of .09. BAC.

McAdams is still being held at the Limestone County Jail.