“I promised my girls that I would protect them,” Doug Walters told Judge Joy Booth Monday. “I failed them on Dec. 26, 2022.”
Walters delivered a victim impact statement to Booth and directed portions of it at Yolanda Hurst, 45, of Tallassee, who was at the wheel when her vehicle collided with Walters’ daughter Bethany, 17, on Highway 229 just over two years ago. Bethany died as a result of the crash. A passenger in Bethany’s car was injured.
“Our lives have changed and have not been the same since,” Walters said. “We have to force ourselves to get out of bed.”
Walters said Jordan, Bethany’s older sister, looked up to her.
“Though Bethany would say she looked up to Jordan,” Walters said.
This past weekend the family celebrated Jordan’s wedding without Bethany.
“We bought a dress for Bethany,” Walters said. “It was placed in a chair at the wedding since she could not be there. (Bethany) should have been there standing with her sister.”
Last month, Hurst was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide, third-degree assault, driving while license was revoked, reckless driving and operating a motor vehicle without a license. They are all charges related to the crash where Hurst’s vehicle crossed the center line and collided with Bethany’ vehicle.
Hurst has at least 10 different traffic citations related to driving without a license or driving while revoked over the years.
Booth gave Hurst the maximum sentence on all the charges and for them to be served consecutively. Still it only added up to 36 months. The assault sentence was then split with 10 months to serve followed by 24 months of supervised probation where Hurst is required to get an Alabama driver’s license. It means Hurst will serve 34 months in jail for Bethany’s death and related charges.
It was the second trial for Hurst and the Walters family after Hurst appealed her conviction and one-year sentence in Elmore County District Court.
Doug Walters called it a third nightmare. The first being the night of Bethany’s death. The second being the first trial and the third being the second trial.
“You took my daughter’s life,” Walters said. “All you had to do was obey the law by not driving a car.”
Hurst said she was a “good person.”
“I’m sorry,” Hurst told the family. “I’m sorry you lost your daughter. I’m not a bad person. I’m a good person. I would never hurt a child.”
Walters said in his statement that after each conviction, Hurst’s body language and comments proved differently.
Booth said she couldn’t understand Hurst’s constant disregard for continually driving without a license.
“Why do we have traffic laws if nobody follows them?” Booth asked from the bench. “You got a ticket, then another and another.”
