UPDATE: Earlier today Wesley T. McKinnon was released from Piedmont Hospital in Columbus, Ga. McKinnon was then arrested by Troopers from ALEA’s Highway Patrol Division and charged with two counts of Reckless Murder. McKinnon was transported back to Alabama and has been booked in the Chambers County Jail, where he is currently awaiting a bond hearing. The investigation is still ongoing and as additional information becomes available and can be shared, it will be released.
Original story: Two people are dead after a chase ended in a head-on collision in Valley.
The ordeal began in Lee County on Interstate 85 near mile marker 66 when a deputy observed a vehicle that had been reportedly stolen at gunpoint in Union Springs recently, Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones said.
A pursuit began and proceeded to mile marker 77 -Valley exit where the deputy lost sight and terminated the pursuit, Sheriff Jones added. Minutes later, Valley police observed the vehicles again and the chase ensued.
During the chase, two-vehicle crash occurred at approximately 9:46 a.m. on Thursday, December 28, 2023 on U.S. 29 near mile marker 205 in Chambers County
A Valley man, identified as 98-year-old Aron C. Haynes, was critically injured when the 2005 Nissan Altima, he was a passenger in, collided head-on with the 2018 Kia Forte driven by a Troy man, later identified as 20-year-old Wesley T. McKinnon. McKinnon was identified as the driver who was attempting to elude law enforcement.
Haynes was transported to East Alabama Medical Center-Lanier in Valley, where he later succumbed to injuries and was pronounced deceased. An 18-year-old juvenile, who was a passenger in the Forte, was also critically injured. The teen was transported to a local hospital, where the 18-year-old also succumbed to injuries and was pronounced deceased.
The driver of the Altima, a Lanett woman, later identified as 64-year-old Regina G. Rutledge and McKinnon were also both injured and transported to Piedmont Hospital in Columbus, Ga., for medical treatment.
“As soon as additional information becomes available and can be shared it will be passed along,” ALEA said. Troopers with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s (ALEA) Highway Patrol Division continue to investigate.
