Kristan Bell, 29, died the morning of August 5, 2021, after a chain-reaction crash on U.S. Highway 280 in Chelsea, Alabama. Troopers reported Bell was driving a 2006 Honda Civic when a Ford F-250 struck her car from behind near the 12-mile marker, triggering a four-vehicle collision that included a 2016 Honda CR-V and a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado. Bell was pronounced dead at the scene and investigators said she was not wearing a seat belt.

Initial attention focused on the pickup’s driver, Allen Montel Barefield of Sylacauga, who was identified at the scene as the person driving the truck that struck Bell’s vehicle. As the wreck was reconstructed, investigators described the pickup as speeding and its driver as using an electronic device, developments that led to a manslaughter charge being booked in Shelby County against Barefield. No other suspects have been identified in connection with Bell’s death.

Did anyone who drove U.S. Highway 280 near the 12-mile marker that morning see anything that could help explain how the crash unfolded?