A truck driver allegedly consumed an “unknown amount of tequila” before causing eight crashes along 28 miles of an Alabama Interstate. 

The series of crashes happened on May 6th along Interstate 65 in Limestone County, Alabama, starting at about 6:45 p.m. Only four of the eight crash reports have been completed as of May 13th.

According to WBRC 6, truck driver John McAdams initially pulled over at mile marker 365 on I-65 to rest, but drank an “unknown amount of tequila” before taking his nap. “After waking up, he got back on the road but did not remember the specific details of when or why,” an investigating officer wrote in the report. 

Soon after entering I-65 after his nap, McAdams hit a sedan two times while traveling at 85 mph. That motorist was able to exit the interstate safely and was eventually transported to a hospital. 

McAdams then allegedly crashed into another sedan six miles down the road. Reports say McAdams “aggressively struck” the second sedan, driven by 22-year-old William Hardrick, at 90 mph, which sent the car into a severe swerve. The car then crashed into a roadside ditch, through a wildlife fence and then a guardrail, before overturning and rolling multiple times. The car then came to a stop on Piney Chapel Road, parallel to I-65. Hadrick was partially ejected in the crash, and was pronounced dead at the scene. 

A few minutes later, McAdams then crashed into the back of an SUV and “partially overrode” the bumper at 90 mph. That motorist was able to pull over safely. No injuries were reported in that incident. McAdams then rear ended another car around the 346 mile post. That motorist says he saw the semi truck coming towards him and tried to move away from the CMV, but was rear ended by McAdams anyway, which forced him off of the road. No injuries were reported in that crash. 

The four remaining crash reports have not yet been completed. 

McAdams then drove down I-65 southbound for 12 more miles until “he could no longer operate the vehicle and came to a controlled stop.” When officers confronted McAdams, he submitted to a field sobriety test, which “revealed several clues of impairment.” McAdams BAC was a .09 when he was booked into the Limestone County Jail, which is only just above the legal limit. It is unclear how much time passed between his “unknown amount of tequila” consumption and the eight accidents. 

McAdams is facing murder charges for the death of Hardrick because he “recklessly engaged in conduct which creates a grave risk of death to a person other than himself, and thereby causes the death of another person.” Hardrick’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the truck driver this week.