Parade Driver 'Purposely' Went Around Barricade: DA

Prosecutor says it looks like 'an intentional act'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 26, 2015 5:53 PM CDT
Parade Driver 'Purposely' Went Around Barricade: DA
Jesse Gaylord, right, the boyfriend of Adacia Chambers, talks with the media in Stillwater, Okla., Monday, Oct. 26, 2015. Adacia Chambers is accused of driving her car into Oklahoma State's homecoming parade, killing four people and injuring dozens of others. At left is defense attorney Tony Coleman....   (Sue Ogrocki)

A woman accused of driving her car into a crowd of people at Oklahoma State University's homecoming parade "purposely" went around a barricade, ran a red light, and drove over a police motorcycle before crashing into the spectators, a prosecutor said Monday. "The evidence suggests this was an intentional act, not an accident," Payne County District Attorney Laura Thomas says in a public statement. The driver's actions demonstrate "a depraved mind and indifference to human life." At a bail hearing, the district attorney told the judge that Adacia Chambers is "looking at four life sentences" if convicted in the deaths of four people who were hit. Special District Judge Katherine Thomas granted the request for $1 million bail and ordered a psychological evaluation for Chambers, who is being held on preliminary counts of second-degree murder.

"This was a well-known parade day and route, and these innocents were visible from a substantial distance," the district attorney says in the statement. The suspect appeared at Monday's hearing via video. The only time she spoke was to say "yes" when the judge asked if she could hear her. Prosecutors asked for more time to interview the dozens of witnesses who were at the scene Saturday and said one of the injured is in a "fragile" state, which could lead to more charges. Chambers, 25, of Stillwater, has yet to be formally charged—a step that requires prosecutors to file additional documents in court. After the hearing, Chambers' attorney, Tony Coleman, says when he told Chambers about the deaths, "her face was blank." He said he was not sure Chambers is aware that she's in jail. Chambers had yet to ask to see her parents or boyfriend. Click for more, including a "kind of strange" request her father says Chambers recently made. (More parade stories.)

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