The former interim Selma fire chief has been convicted of leaving the scene of a deadly hit-and-run on I-59/20 near Bessemer, but he was acquitted of a more serious charge.

A Jefferson County Bessemer Cutoff jury convicted 54-year-old Franklin Nelson Edwards of leaving the scene of an accident causing death. The jury found him not guilty of manslaughter.

The fatal crash happened at 11:50 p.m. that Friday, June 26, 2020, on Interstate 59/20 southbound at mile marker 102.

Matthew Scott Sartin, a 22-year-old from Pineville, Louisiana, was killed in the crash. He was pronounced dead at 1:04 a.m.

According to troopers, Sartin was driving a 2000 BMW 1200 motorcycle. After troopers secured the scene, they found a 2009 BMW 750 sedan about two miles south of the crash. It was disabled and abandoned.

Investigators determined the vehicle had been driven by Edwards.

Edwards’ sentencing on the Class C felony conviction is set for April 7.

Edwards was arrested in 2024 on unrelated first-degree theft charges. He was taken into custody by Alabama State Fire Marshal’s Office deputies with assistance from the Dallas County sheriff’s deputies.

He is accused of stealing $4,400 from the City of Selma. That case has been forwarded to a grand jury for indictment consideration.