Two Charged With DUI After Seven-Vehicle Tuscaloosa Crash Kills One, Injures Five

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The Tuscaloosa Police Department has identified the woman killed in a seven-vehicle crash early Sunday on Interstate 359 and announced that two people involved have been charged with driving under the influence.

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TPD said in an update Sunday that Cierra Brena Anthony, 21, of Tuscaloosa, was the passenger in a 2023 Dodge Challenger that was rear-ended by another vehicle around 2 a.m. in the southbound lanes near the on-ramps to Interstate 20/59.

Police belief Anthony and the driver got out of the car to check on the other motorist when a second crash involving five more vehicles occurred. One of those vehicles struck the parked Challenger, pushing it into Anthony and causing fatal injuries.

As Patch previously reported, seven vehicles were involved in the series of crashes, with five people taken to DCH Regional Medical Center with injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening.

Two drivers were charged with driving under the influence and the investigation by TPD’s Traffic Homicide Unit remains ongoing. The identities of those arrested have not been made public.

TPD stressed strong cooperation among local agencies in response to the situation, which involved 26 Tuscaloosa Police officers, members of TPD's Cyber Intelligence Division Drone Response Unit, Tuscaloosa Fire Rescue, and assisting officers from the Northport Police Department and University of Alabama Police Department.

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