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OSU Parade Crash Suspect’s BAC Below Legal Limit, Press Wants Gag Order Lifted

25-year-old Adacia Avery Chambers
Stillwater Police Department
25-year-old Adacia Avery Chambers

Court records indicate the woman accused of driving the car that crashed into a crowd of spectators at Oklahoma State University’s homecoming parade a month ago had a blood alcohol content of 0.01.

Adacia Chambers was arrested on suspicion of DUI October 24. Prosecutors say she drove around a barricade and into spectators gathered to watch the parade before crashing into a pole.

The court documents indicate blood was drawn from Chambers when she arrived at the Stillwater police station after being taken into custody. Stillwater Police Captain Kyle Gibbs would not confirm the blood draw results to The Tulsa World, citing a gag order put in place earlier this month:

Speaking generally, Gibbs said though people 21 and older are considered under the influence at 0.08, a person younger than 21 meets the requirements for a DUI arrest at a 0.02 BAC. “A 0.01 would not even meet the limit for a person under 21 to be prima facie (first impression) evidence for a DUI,” he said.

Chambers has been charged with four counts of second-degree murder and 46 counts of assault and battery. Marvin Stone, Bonnie Stone, Nikita Nakal, and two-year-old Nash Lucas all died as a result of the collision. Dozens more sustained injuries.

In the court filing, defense attorney Tony Coleman asked that Chambers be declared indigent, because she can’t afford proper representation based on her income. The Oklahoma Indigent Defense System provides legal counsel paid for by the state.

Coleman says Chambers’ defense requires medical experts to explain the results of psychological evaluations and the scene of the incident, and that’s the only way Chambers’ will receive proper justice afforded under the Sixth Amendment.

Newspapers Want Gag Order Lifted

A group that represents several Oklahoma newspapers wants District Judge Louis Duel to lift a gag order in the case.

The Oklahoma Press Association’s executive vice president Mark Thomas told The Oklahoman the court entered the gag order without a proper hearing, and it’s unclear who can or can’t talk to the media:

"In the gag order, it says, not only can the family not talk but others associated with them (can't, as well). In other words ... sort of gagging anonymous people. That's not how gag orders work. "People that are gagged by the court are supposed to be named by the court ... we don't ever know who's gagged and the judge needs to clarify that." . . . The association also contends the "particulars of 'a gag order' have yet to be memorialized in any document available to the public." Thomas said no written gag order has been released and the judge is required to do so. Prosecutors asked for the gag order.

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Brian Hardzinski is from Flower Mound, Texas and a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. He began his career at KGOU as a student intern, joining KGOU full time in 2009 as Operations and Public Service Announcement Director. He began regularly hosting Morning Edition in 2014, and became the station's first Digital News Editor in 2015-16. Brian’s work at KGOU has been honored by Public Radio News Directors Incorporated (PRNDI), the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters, the Oklahoma Associated Press Broadcasters, and local and regional chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists. Brian enjoys competing in triathlons, distance running, playing tennis, and entertaining his rambunctious Boston Terrier, Bucky.
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