Berry Man Gets Prison Time For DUI Wreck That Injured Teen

FAYETTE, AL — A Berry man who was driving drunk when he caused a serious crash that injured a teenager two week before last Christmas has been sentenced to serve 15 years and a day in prison for first-degree assault. Wesley Aaron Studdard, 31, pleaded guilty in Fayette County earlier this month, with his sentence announced on Wednesday.

Investigators with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) determined that the 17-year-old female victim, driving a 2007 Mazda6, had been traveling south on Alabama Highway 13 and was stopped waiting to pull into her driveway at 5 p.m. on Dec. 13, 2020.

Studdard, driving a 2002 Toyota Tacoma south on Highway 13, crashed into the rear of her car
while traveling approximately 60 mph, pushing the Mazda across the lanes of traffic, before it came to rest 195 feet from the point of impact.

A witness also reported to troopers that Studdard exited his truck and threw something into the grass alongside the road along with a cooler. The cooler, along with opened and unopened beer cans, were recovered from the site.

The teenager was flown to UAB Hospital in Birmingham, where she was treated for traumatic
injuries to her head, face, neck, chest, lungs and extremities. She continues to recover from the
injuries, according to District Attorney Andy Hamlin's office.

Studdard was checked by medical staff and later performed poorly on a sobriety test administered four hours after the crash. His blood alcohol level registered at 0.14 at 9:12 p.m. that night.

Investigators pointed out that Studdard had one prior adult DUI conviction.

Studdard remains in the Fayette County Jail awaiting transfer to the Alabama Department of
Corrections. Because of the length of the sentence, he will not be eligible for good behavior
incentive time while serving the sentence.

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