Woman charged with murder after May crash in county

Published 8:13 am Thursday, September 11, 2014

A Louisiana woman has been charged with reckless murder, in connection with a May vehicle accident that claimed the life of an Andalusia man.

The crash took place Wednesday, May 7, on Interstate 65 near the 63.1-mile marker in northern Escambia County.

Estella Curry, 47, of Madisonville, La., was charged with reckless murder and turned herself in at the Escambia County Detention Center on Tuesday. Her bond was set at $125,000 and she has not yet bonded out.

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Richard Harmon Walker, 42, of Andalusia, was killed after his 2006 Toyota Tacoma was rear-ended by Curry’s 2009 BMW 335i on May 7, around 1:10 p.m.

According to accident reports from the Alabama State Troopers, both vehicles were traveling northbound on I-65 in the inside lane, when Curry’s vehicle struck Walker’s, causing it to travel east, strike a ditch and overturn.

Curry’s vehicle continued into the median and onto the southbound lanes of I-65, before making its way back into the median before stopping.

According to the report, the primary contributing circumstance was “aggressive operation” by Curry. The report also said that Curry was driving over the posted speed limit of 70 mph, but her actual speed was unknown.