AST: Inmate death a traffic homicide
Published 12:00 am Thursday, November 21, 2013
The weekend death of an inmate from the Covington County Jail Sunday was the result of a traffic accident, Sgt. Steven Jarrett said Wednesday.
Jarrett, public information officer for the Alabama Department of Public Safety, said 38-year-old Almus Taylor of Navarre, Fla., was taken into custody just after 7 p.m. Saturday and charged with driving under the influence.
Jarrett said troopers were able to confirm that Taylor was involved in a crash prior to being found inside his vehicle on Judge Smith Road Saturday when troopers responded to a “possible crash” call. Taylor allegedly refused medical treatment at the scene and was taken to the Covington County Jail.
At 6:20 the next morning, jail staff called for an ambulance, and Taylor was taken for treatment; however, he died an hour later inside the ARH emergency room.
“We are classifying Mr. Taylor’s death as a traffic fatality, which is what we do when anyone with injuries from a crash dies within 30 days of being involved in that crash,” Jarrett said. “It’s our policy.”
Taylor’s body was sent to the state forensic lab for an autopsy at the request of the district attorney.