A Sylacauga man has been indicted in a 2021 distracted driving crash that killed a 29-year-old woman in Shelby County.

A grand jury indicted 25-year-old Allen Montel Barefield on a felony charge of manslaughter. The indictment was made public Friday.

The crash happened on Aug. 5, 2021, on U.S. 280 in Chelsea.

It was about 7:15 a.m. that Thursday when authorities said Kristan Bell’s Honda Civic was struck from behind by a Ford F-250 driven by Barefield.

Bell, who was not wearing a seat belt, was pronounced dead on the scene. She lived in Oxford.

Barefield was initially arrested one year later on a misdemeanor charge of criminally negligent homicide.

Charging documents state Barefield was speeding and distracted by the use of an electronic device when he crashed in Bell’s car.

Barefield has been out of jail on $6,000 bond since his arrest last year.

The grand jury, which met this month, increased the charge to manslaughter.