An Alabama man was arrested and charged with manslaughter after his wife was fatally hit by a car while drunk. Jason Todd, 42, had refused to allow his wife to get behind the wheel of her car while under the influence, leading her to walk home. At one point, she wandered into the road, where she was struck by a motorist and died, AL.com reports.
- Tonya Anderson’s death was a tragic accident. She was walking along the northbound shoulder of Highway 31 when she was hit. While this clearly couldn’t have been her husband’s fault, Todd was charged as police in Canton accused him of throwing away her keys as they argued in front of Friends Steakhouse in Clanton. This, they say, led her to go on a search for the keys along the dimly lit road while wearing dark clothing.
- Todd has filed his own lawsuit against the Clanton Poice Department. His lawsuit claims that he never should have been arrested and that surveillance footage taken from the steakhouse parking lot proves that he never threw the keys away or forced his 35-year-old wife to walk home. He also claims that it would never have been possible for him to have thrown the keys the distance the officers allege he did.
- He claims he was badgered by the police department. Todd’s lawsuit says CPD investigators interrogated him relentlessly and “continuously berated and screamed” at him as they tried to “guilt him into confessing to something he didn’t do.” They even allegedly made him look at images of the crash site.
- Todd’s manslaughter trial is due to begin in 2023. He won’t face trial for his wife’s death until February 27, 2023. In the meantime, David Hicks, a CPD officer named in Todd’s lawsuit, has denied all charges against him.
