Alabama DUI crash charges have been laid against a Decatur man following a collision at a Moulton intersection that killed a mother and three of her four children, with a Lawrence County grand jury returning a nine-count indictment against Garrett Cole Nix, 35, last week.
Nix is accused of running a red light on 11 April and driving his Ford F-150 into an SUV carrying Ashley Dawn Hagood, 33, of Hartselle, and her four children. Hagood, her 13-year-old son Bryant Christopher Ballew, and 7-year-old twin Bryleigh Grace Pledger were pronounced dead at the scene at the intersection of Alabama Highway 157 and Alabama Highway 24, some 45 miles south-west of Huntsville.
The second twin, Brynleigh Nell Pledger, was transported first to Children’s Hospital in Birmingham and later transferred to UAB Hospital, where she died on 15 April, four days after the crash, according to AL.com. The surviving child, 10-year-old Bentley Pledger, was airlifted by medical helicopter to Children’s Hospital in Birmingham, where he received treatment, WAFF reported.
Nine Charges Include DUI Involving a Controlled Substance
Nix faces nine charges in total: four counts of manslaughter, one count of first-degree assault, driving under the influence of a controlled substance, speeding, running a red light, and failure to wear a seatbelt. The DUI charge specifies a controlled substance rather than alcohol, according to the Moulton Advertiser.
Nix turned himself in to the jail on Monday after the indictment and subsequently posted bond, according to Yahoo News.
His attorney, James Sturdivant, contests the DUI allegation outright. ‘There is no evidence in this case of impairment. None. Period. End of story,’ Sturdivant told local NBC affiliate WAFF. ‘Mr. Nix, like millions of Americans, may have had a recreational use of marijuana three days before, two days before, five days before.’
Sturdivant’s argument centres on the pharmacokinetics of cannabis: THC metabolites can remain detectable in a driver’s system for days after consumption, and the presence of those metabolites does not by itself establish impairment at the time of driving. Whether prosecutors can establish impairment at the wheel will likely turn on toxicological evidence and expert testimony at trial.
Alabama DUI Crash Investigation Ruled Out Traffic-Light Fault
Lt. Casey Baker, who led the investigation, said officers initially considered whether a malfunction in the traffic signal had caused the collision. That possibility was ruled out. Authorities determined that Nix’s light had been red for ‘a significant period of time before his vehicle entered the intersection,’ Baker said, and that several vehicles had already cleared the green light by the time Hagood’s SUV entered the junction.
Moulton Police Chief Craig Knight addressed reporters at a press conference on Monday. ‘On April the 11th, 2026, we witnessed one of the most tragic and horrific events imaginable. Four lives were taken needlessly, and family members’ lives were changed forever,’ Knight said.
Following the crash, Moulton increased police patrols at the Highway 157 and Highway 24 intersection. Mayor Ryan Jolly said first responders recommended the additional officer presence after the collision.
Grand jury proceedings in Alabama courts are conducted under seal until an indictment is returned, at which point the charges become public. Subject to any pre-trial applications, the case will now proceed through the Lawrence County court system. Manslaughter under Alabama law carries a potential sentence of two to twenty years per count if convicted at the felony level, meaning the four manslaughter counts alone expose Nix to substantial custodial risk if the prosecution succeeds at trial.
