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Aron C. Haynes

Age : 98

Gender : Male

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 : 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, 98-year-old Aron C. Haynes of Valley was killed when a fleeing 2018 Kia Forte crashed head-on into the 2005 Nissan Altima in which Haynes was a passenger on U.S. Highway 29 near mile marker 205 in Valley. Haynes was an uninvolved bystander and had no connection to the police pursuit.
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The incident began when a Lee County sheriff’s deputy spotted the Kia on Interstate 85 near mile marker 66. Authorities said the Kia had been stolen at gunpoint in Union Springs the previous day. The deputy pursued the vehicle north on I-85 toward Valley. Near Exit 77, the deputy lost sight of the Kia and terminated that pursuit.
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Minutes later, Valley Police Department officers spotted the Kia near Valley High School on U.S. Highway 29. Police again followed the vehicle as 20-year-old Wesley T. McKinnon continued driving away from law enforcement.
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At approximately 9:46 a.m., the Kia crossed into opposing traffic on U.S. Highway 29 near mile marker 205 and collided head-on with a Nissan Altima driven by 64-year-old Regina G. Rutledge of Lanett. Haynes, Rutledge's father, was riding as a passenger in the Altima.
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Haynes suffered critical injuries and was transported to East Alabama Medical Center-Lanier in Valley, where he died. An 18-year-old passenger in the fleeing Kia, later identified as Cadence Brown, was also critically injured and died at a hospital. McKinnon and Rutledge were injured and transported to Piedmont Hospital in Columbus, Georgia.
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Rutledge remained hospitalized after the crash and later died from her injuries, making her the third person killed as a result of the collision. Haynes and Rutledge were both occupants of the uninvolved vehicle struck by the fleeing Kia.
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After his release from the hospital, McKinnon was arrested by Alabama Law Enforcement Agency troopers and initially charged with two counts of reckless murder. At the time of the crash, McKinnon was already out on bond in a separate Barbour County case involving a 2021 police chase crash that killed a woman. Prosecutors subsequently sought to revoke that bond.
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The case ultimately resulted in charges covering all three deaths. On 04/30/2025, McKinnon entered a guilty plea to three counts of reckless murder, felony attempting to elude and receiving stolen property. On 05/22/2025, he was sentenced to 60 years for each of the three reckless-murder counts, ordered to run consecutively, plus another 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 crash.
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Haynes's identity and age are independently confirmed by his obituary. Aron C. Haynes was born on 10/07/1925 and died on 12/28/2023 at age 98. He was a World War II U.S. Army veteran and had worked for 45 years at Fairfax Mill before retiring.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.valleytimes-news.com/2023/12/two-dead-in-valley-crash-during-police-chase/
https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2024/01/05/690757.htm
https://www.wtvm.com/2023/12/28/police-pursuit-ends-two-vehicle-crash-hwy-29-chambers-county/
https://cnaw2news.com/2023/12/28/two-killed-in-head-on-collision-during-chase-in-valley-alea-says/
https://apnews.com/article/baad65c2cc49cc08097af4b991637408
https://unionsprings.news/stolen-vehicle-police-chase-and-crash-leaves-two-deceased
https://www.johnsonbrownservicefh.com/obituary/AronC-Haynes
https://unionsprings.news/wesley-mckinnon-sentenced-200-years-deadly-high-speed-chase-chambers-county