A 24-year-old Morris man pleaded guilty Monday to a fatal DUI crash that happened four years ago.
Callin Craig Curlette, still awaiting trial on an unrelated DUI charge, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in a Blount County courtroom, said Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey. James Edward Gill, 45, was killed in the wreck.
The crash happened about 5:55 p.m. on Sept. 1, 2013 on Alabama Highway 79 in Blount County, three miles south of Locust Fork. Gill, a Piggly Wiggly produce retailer, was the driver of a 2009 Nissan Rogue when he was hit by Curlette, who was driving a 2002 Chevrolet Silverado. Gill was pronounced dead on the scene, and Curlette was taken to UAB Hospital.
Curlette said he was not driving the Silverado, but authorities said he was the only one in the pickup truck at the time of the deadly crash.
A Blount County grand jury in July 2014 indicted Curlette on reckless manslaughter and vehicular homicide. According to the indictment, Curlette "did recklessly engage in conduct which manifested extreme indifference to human life and created a grave risk of death" to Gill by operating a motor vehicle while under the influence and driving on the wrong side of the road.
Curlette was arrested on those charges on Aug. 17, 2014 and released a day later after posting $75,000 bond. He applied for youthful offender status, but that request was denied. His case had been set for trial three times - Jan. 1, 2016, April 11, 2016 and Oct. 3, 2016 - but was been continued for various reasons. Casey has previously said the delays in getting Curlette to trial showed the need for another judge in Blount County.
On Oct. 29, 2016 Curlette was arrested again, this time by Oneonta police. Police said said officers stopped Curlette at 3 a.m. after he was clocked driving 91 mph. His speech was slurred, police said, and his blood alcohol content was .16, which is exactly twice the legal limit.
Two days after that arrest, Casey filed a motion requesting that Curlette's bond in the 2013 case be revoked. According to that request, Curlette's blood alcohol content in the 2013 fatal crash was .219, nearly three times the legal limit. The judge ruled in Casey's favor on the bond revocation.
Curlette is still awaiting trial on the 2016 DUI case.
In court Monday, Curlette said he had been worried about what was going to happen to him, but now realizes it's not about him but is about the victim and his family. He apologized to the family, which said they had long ago forgiven him.
Curlette was sentenced to 20 years in prison.