Search fatalities

Regina Rutledge

Age : 64

Gender : Female

Race : White

Date : 12/28/2023

Location : U.S. Highway 29 near mile marker 205

City : Valley

County : Chambers

State : Alabama

Agency : Lee County Sheriff’s Office, Valley Police Department

Officer(s) :Unknown

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Third party bystander killed by police chase

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

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REASON FOR CHASE: Vehicle reportedly stolen at gunpoint in Union Springs.
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NARRATIVE:
On 12/28/2023, 18-year-old Cadence Brown of Valley was killed while riding as a passenger in a 2018 Kia Forte that crashed during a police pursuit on U.S. Highway 29 in Chambers County. Brown was a passenger in the fleeing vehicle and was not its driver.
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Authorities said the Kia had been stolen in Union Springs on 12/27/2023 after the person who took it allegedly held a victim at gunpoint. The following morning, a Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputy spotted the Kia on Interstate 85 near mile marker 66 and pursued it north toward Valley.
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The Lee County deputy lost sight of the Kia near Exit 77 at Fob James Drive and ended that phase of the pursuit. Authorities said Valley Police Department officers subsequently spotted the Kia near Valley High School on U.S. Highway 29 and began following it.
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At approximately 9:46 a.m., the Kia, driven by 20-year-old Wesley T. McKinnon of Union Springs, crossed into opposing traffic on U.S. Highway 29 near mile marker 205 and collided head-on with a 2005 Nissan Altima.
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Brown was critically injured and transported to a hospital, where she died. Contemporary WTVM/WSFA reporting incorrectly used male pronouns for Brown; family material identifies Cadence as female. A family fundraiser created the day after the crash confirms that she had turned 18 only weeks before her death and includes her photograph.
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The Nissan Altima was occupied by 64-year-old Regina Rutledge and her 98-year-old father, Aron C. Haynes. Haynes was critically injured and died at East Alabama Medical Center-Lanier. Rutledge was seriously injured and subsequently died from her injuries, bringing the death toll from the crash to three. Your existing database also records Rutledge as a 64-year-old woman killed in this same police-pursuit incident.
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McKinnon survived the crash and was arrested after his release from the hospital. Alabama Law Enforcement Agency troopers initially charged him with two counts of reckless murder. The case was later expanded following Rutledge's death.
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On 04/30/2025, McKinnon pleaded guilty to three counts of reckless murder, felony attempting to elude and first-degree receiving stolen property. On 05/22/2025, he was sentenced to 60 years for each of the three reckless-murder convictions, to run consecutively, plus an additional 20 years on the remaining charges, for a total sentence of 200 years.
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The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Highway Patrol Division investigated the fatal collision.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.valleytimes-news.com/2023/12/two-dead-in-valley-crash-during-police-chase/

https://cnaw2news.com/2024/01/05/alea-driver-from-late-december-2023-pursuit-receives-no-bond-third-victim-passes-away/
https://www.wtvm.com/2023/12/28/police-pursuit-ends-two-vehicle-crash-hwy-29-chambers-county/
https://www.wsfa.com/2023/12/29/98-year-old-teen-dead-after-two-vehicle-crash-hwy-29-chambers-co/
https://www.gofundme.com/f/cadence-brown
https://unionsprings.news/wesley-mckinnon-sentenced-200-years-deadly-high-speed-chase-chambers-county