Man gets 18 years in prison for DUI crash that killed a Shelby County husband and father

Man gets 18 years in prison for DUI crash that killed a Shelby County husband and father

A Dothan man has pleaded guilty to a 2018 DUI crash that killed a 28-year-old husband and father in Shelby County.

Hunter Graham Spann, 30, entered his guilty plea to reckless murder on Feb. 6, court records show. He was sentenced to 18 years in state prison.

Killed was Darius Lilly.

The crash happened at 5:17 p.m. on Dec. 2, 2018, on Highway 25 in the area of County Road 86 in Calera.

Witnesses told police that Spann was passing a vehicle when he collided head-on with Lilly’s vehicle. Lilly was pronounced dead on the scene.

His young daughter was in the vehicle with him, but she was not seriously injured.

Spann was seriously injured and also taken to an area hospital by ambulance.

According to the 2020 indictment against Spann, he was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the deadly crash and illegally passing.

Just three weeks before Lilly was killed, his 2-year-old son, Mason Lilly, died from an acute medical condition.

“The pain and shock is devastating and no one can really wrap their minds around how this could happen,’’ according to a GoFundMe after the deadly crash. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalms 46:1.”