Adacia Chambers has been arrested following an incident that left four people dead at the Oklahoma State Homecoming Parade.
Police say the 25-year-old Chambers drove her car through the parade, sending “bodies flying”and killing four bystanders before crashing up onto curb. Chambers is being charged with DUI by police. Twenty-two injured bystanders, eight of whom are in critical condition, were taken to Stillwater Medical Center for treatment.
The crowd was in attendance of the Sea of Orange parade, an annual tradition that typically draws a crowd of thousands. The OSU football team blew out Kansas later in the day.
Chambers is scheduled to appear in court Monday.
The four victims killed in the crash have been identified. Police said Bonnie Jean and Marvin Stone, both 65, a married couple, and 23-year-old Nakita Prabhakar, a student at the University of Central Oklahoma originally from India, were killed. The fourth victim was 2-year-old Nash Lucas, who died at a hospital Saturday afternoon, KOTV reports.
One of Chambers’ co-workers told Heavy that Chambers was “mature and responsible.” The co-worker, who has been working with Chambers for a few months, said she’s “completely shocked” to hear of her co-worker’s involvement in the accident. The two work at a Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, a franchised restaurant in Stillwater. She said that Chambers is wearing her work shirt in the accident and subsequent arrest photos.
While the two weren’t friends, the co-worker said that Chambers “kept to herself, (and was) definitely not as loud and social as the others.”
As for the day of the incident, we’ve learned more about Chambers’ state at the time of her crash. When asked if anything was different about Adacia lately, the co-worker said, “Nope, not at all. She worked this morning though and people said she ‘looked like she’s on drugs.'” Adacia was supposed to work from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., but was sent home early “because they thought she was on drugs.” Adacia also worked until “at least midnight” on Friday night.
She told us that Chambers worked last night and then this morning, while her father indicated that Adacia went out for Homecoming festivities. That would make for an exhausting run, and could have played a role in Chambers’ state at the time of the accident.
According to Mark Thompson, the owner of Freddy’s, Adacia is “an excellent employee,” who “didn’t appear to be under the influence (when she left).” It is unknown if Thompson was at the restaurant during Chambers’ early departure.
After getting out of her car, Chambers was arrested and charged with driving under the influence. Police have stated that it will be “several days” before the full facts of the incident will be released. She was booked and is at Payne County Jail.
At the scene, multiple choppers were used to airlift victims to Stillwater Medical Center. Multiple law enforcement agencies are involved in the recovery process. The accident occurred at the corner of Hall of Fame and Main Street, a very populated area just two blocks from the football stadium.
Four adults remain in critical condition, police said Sunday. Six children and six adults were also still hospitalized Sunday, with their conditions ranging from good to fair, according to the Stillwater Police. Thirty other victims, including five children, were treated and released by Sunday.
According to her Facebook profile, Chambers is a native of Oologah, Oklahoma. Oologah is approximately 100 miles from Stillwater, where the crash took place. Frank Chambers, Alicia’s father, told The Oklahoman that Adacia lives in Stillwater with her boyfriend. Her Facebook page doesn’t have many other details besides her entertainment interests, and her pictures don’t feature anyone besides herself. She has a Google+ and Youtube account, but they were started in 2011 and do not have any posted videos. Her Twitter profile was created in 2013 and consists of three tweets.
The Sea of Orange parade is an annual tradition at Oklahoma State. According to the OK Statealumni page, the parade consists of, “more than 120 entries by OSU Greek houses, residential halls, student organizations, alumni and the Stillwater community”
Frank Chambers told The Oklahoman that he first found out about the incident via social media. The 47-year-old, who resides in Oologah, told the paper that Adacia had attended homecoming festivities the night before, but had been home by 10 p.m. Chambers also confirmed that Adacia lives in Stillwater with her boyfriend.
He told the paper:
“I can’t figure this out. This is not the person that’s my daughter … I can’t imagine alcohol being involved. She is not an alcoholic that I’m aware of. This is just not who she is. They’re going to paint her into a horrible person but this is not (her).”
At around 10:30 a.m. local time, Chambers drove her silver sedan through a crowd of people at the OK State Homecoming Parade. Chambers’ vehicle was not part of the parade. The sedan first made contact with a police motorcycle, before barreling through and onto a crowded corner. Authorities have stated that it’s too early to tell whether or not Chambers’ actions were intentional.
Megan Lantz, who was at the parade, told The Oklahoman her account of the crash:
“This is the very end of the parade where all the vehicles start to split off in their own directions. There were probably 100 people on the corner where the car came through. We were facing the parade and heard tires squealing and then started to hear the car hitting things and people and there was screaming and people running away.”
“I think the car was going between 45 and 50 MPH, and it just barreled into everybody that was there. I had my six children with me, but I am first aid certified, so I passed them on to my mother and ran in to help. Everyone was helping as much as they could.
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