Woman formally charged with reckless murder in fatal wreck
Published 1:29 pm Friday, January 6, 2017
A Limestone County grand jury has formally charged a Madison woman with reckless murder and driving under the influence, records show.
Christina Marie Beck, 40, was recently indicted by the grand jury and remains in Limestone County Jail.
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She is accused in an April 21, 2016, wreck that killed her 5-year-old son, Eli Beck; injured another driver, Joseph Beggs, 49, of Somerville; and caused serious injuries to herself.
The wreck occurred at 7:05 p.m. on Huntsville-Browns Ferry Road, a half-mile east of Interstate 65. Beck lost control of her 2016 Hyundai Accent rental car as she was crossing a bridge and slid into the path of a utility van driven by Beggs, according to court records. Beggs was treated at Athens-Limestone Hospital.
Beck told authorities she was driving and looked back at her son when she lost control of the car. It was raining at the time of the crash.
The boy, who was declared dead at the scene, was in a seat belt but not a child restraint.
Court records show Beck had alcohol and marijuana in her system at the time of the crash. She had been arrested on a DUI charge more than a month earlier on March 12, records show.
Beck, who was seriously injured in the accident, has been jailed since receiving medical treatment at Huntsville Hospital and at a physical therapy rehabilitation facility following the wreck.
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No firm trial date has been set.