As the trial in a crash that killed a pregnant woman in Montco begins, attorneys debate murder charge

There is no question that Everett Clayton was behind the wheel of an 18,000-pound dump truck last year when it collided with another car, killing a pregnant woman and her unborn daughter. Even Clayton’s attorney acknowledged that Monday, as his trial on third-degree murder and homicide by vehicle charges began in Norristown.

But what is in question — and what will ultimately be decided by a Montgomery County jury — is whether or not Clayton, 57, of Charleston, W.Va., committed murder that afternoon in Lower Providence Township.

Clayton’s attorney, James Lyons, told the jury the crash was a “horrendous accident.”

“I guess what I’m telling you is that my client is guilty of homicide by vehicle,” Lyons said. “But he’s not guilty of murder.”

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Clayton, who does not have a valid driver’s license, was driving an uninsured and uninspected Ford F650 XLT Super Duty dump truck on Aug. 25, 2022 when he took a curve too sharply on South Park Avenue and lost control, prosecutors said.

As the dump truck began to fishtail, Clayton yanked the wheel in the opposite direction, causing it to collide head-on with a Chevrolet Tahoe being driven by Kellie Adams. Adams, a teacher at Cottage Seven Academy in Phoenixville and a fifth-generation firefighter, was eight months pregnant with her daughter, Emersyn.

Assistant District Attorney Gabrielle Hughes on Monday disputed Lyons’ theory of the case. Clayton’s actions in the moments leading up to the crash, she said, prove that murder is the more appropriate charge.

“This case isn’t just about a traffic violation,” Hughes said. “This case is about the defendant’s extreme indifference to human life, to the safety of other drivers on the road.”

Clayton was speeding at the time of the crash, Hughes said, going approximately 60 miles per hour around a curve rated for speeds 40 miles slower. By his own admission, he had been drinking before getting the dump truck to leave a construction site.

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“Kellie Adams didn’t stand a chance,” Hughes said. “There was no steering, braking or quick thinking that could’ve saved her.”

Adams, 31, was pronounced dead at the scene as first responders, including her husband, Jason, attempted to pull her from the vehicle.

In an interview with detectives after the crash, Clayton said he had two beers that day, including one 30 minutes before the crash, and he had the remnants of a six-pack in the truck with him, according to investigators. But his blood-alcohol level was .076, just under the legal limit, and he was not charged with DUI. Lyons said Monday that alcohol did not play any part in the fatal crash.

He urged jurors to decide the case based on its facts, and not out of sympathy for Adams’ family.

“Every heart in this courtroom goes out to the victim’s family,” Lyons said. “I’m not asking you to exonerate this man, but to hold him accountable for something he did do, and not something he didn’t do.”

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After Clayton’s arrest, detectives analyzed his cell phone and found that he had been recording a video for about 30 minutes before the crash as he drove. In the video, Clayton can be seen speeding and tailgating other vehicles, according to investigators.

He also nearly caused several other collisions, including one with a landscaping trailer that led Clayton to swerve into oncoming traffic at the last minute.

Inspectors working with county detectives also found that the dump truck did not have a valid state inspection, and likely would have failed one: Its rear tires were mismatched and there was an issue with its braking system, according to the affidavit of probable cause for his arrest.

The truck’s owner, Patrick Doran, later pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle for purchasing the truck under an alias and failing to maintain it. He was sentenced in August to 3½-to-7 years in state prison.

At Doran’s sentencing hearing, prosecutors said he had recruited Clayton, who was experiencing homelessness, at a shelter in Virginia. Clayton worked for Doran’s construction company, but told detectives he did not know how to drive a dump truck.

Still, Hughes said Monday that the condition of the truck did not play a major role in Adams’ death.

“This crash was caused by [Clayton’s] actions alone,” she said. “This was the result that was unavoidable and inevitable when you look at all of the defendant’s behavior that day.”

The trial is expected to last two or three days before Montgomery County Court Judge William Carpenter.