Millbrook Man, 19, Killed in Coosa County Crash After Ejection

Keith T. Young, 19, of Millbrook was not wearing a seatbelt when his 2007 Honda Accord left U.S. Highway 231 near the 189 mile-marker in Coosa County, struck a tree and overturned just after midnight Tuesday. He was ejected and pronounced dead at the scene.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency confirmed the crash occurred at approximately 12:30 a.m., roughly two miles south of Rockford. No other vehicles were involved. The ALEA Highway Patrol Division is conducting the investigation and has released only preliminary information as troopers continue to document the scene. Toxicology results and a full accounting of speed and road conditions are pending the formal crash report and a Coosa County coroner review.

Young's death is the fourth fatal crash recorded on U.S. 231 through Coosa County since August 2024. A 16-year-old was killed at the highway's intersection with Coosa County 150 in August 2024 following a collision with a Freightliner 18-wheeler. In January 2025, Kelderick J. Williams, 34, of Vestavia Hills, and Linda J. Thrasher, 70, of Oxford were both killed in a two-car crash roughly six miles south of Rockford. James E. Carter Jr., 76, of Sylacauga died on the same corridor in August 2025 when his vehicle left the roadway and struck an embankment. Five people have died on that stretch in 19 months.

The circumstances of Young's crash reflect the risk profile that Alabama safety data consistently identifies as most lethal on rural highways. The Alabama Department of Transportation's 2024 Crash Facts report found that nearly 60 percent of the 967 people killed on Alabama roads that year were not wearing seatbelts. The same report found that younger drivers are overrepresented in fatal crashes, with roughly one in four traffic deaths in 2024 involving a driver 25 or younger, and that while most crashes statewide happen in urban areas, the majority of fatalities occur on rural roads where higher speeds, limited lighting, and roadside obstacles compound the consequences of any departure from the pavement.

The 189 mile-marker, set in a rural section of 231 where the highway passes through Coosa County's wooded terrain between Montgomery and Sylacauga-area communities, is a regular travel route for Autauga and Elmore County commuters moving north on the corridor. ALEA's complete crash report will be filed once the investigation concludes. Funeral arrangements for Young are expected to be announced by the family.