Montgomery police investigate cause of fatal crash on Interstate 85

Montgomery police are investigating a fatal crash that happened shortly before midnight Thursday.

One person was killed and two were injured in the single-vehicle crash, which happened on Interstate 85 North at the Perry Hill Road exit.

The crash claimed the life of the front seat passenger, Latisha Henderson, 21, of Montgomery.

The driver and an infant were transported to Baptist Medical Center South and their conditions were listed as not life-threatening, said Sgt. Regina Duckett, a police spokeswoman.

Based on the investigation, the vehicle lost control and struck the concrete divider. Investigators continue to work to determine the cause of the crash, Duckett said.

There also was a second crash at the scene that led to the arrest of the driver of a pickup.

The pickup struck and totaled two police cars that were blocking the scene of the fatal crash, Duckett said.

Shana Hanrahan, 30, of Montgomery was charged with driving under the influence.

No one was injured in that crash.

The fatal crash marked the city?s 18th traffic fatality of the year.

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Panel will investigate allegations of grade changing at Lee, JD, Lanier

The Alabama State Department of Education on Monday named the members of the three-person investigative team that will look into allegations of mass grade changes at three Montgomery public high schools.

Dr. Terry Jenkins, former Auburn City Schools superintendent, Larry Raines, a former high school principal and ACCESS Administrator at ALSDE, and A.J. Price, the former technology coordinator and INOW contract specialist for ALSDE, will investigate the charges reported in the Montgomery Advertiser two weeks ago. In the story, numerous teachers at Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis and Sidney Lanier high schools made allegations of grade changing at the schools. INOW is the state-mandated student records system that tracks changes in grades.

The investigative team held its first meeting Monday to review information and formulate a plan, according to ALSDE spokeswoman Malissa Valdes-Hubert. The next step will be a review of all student information within Montgomery?s high schools.

Montgomery Public Schools superintendent Barbara Thompson requested the investigation. It will operate in conjunction with a separate investigation that the Montgomery Board of Education approved last week when it voted unanimously to hire a former FBI investigator to also look into the allegations.

MPS board chairman Charlotte Meadows also has sent a letter to Attorney General Luther Strange asking him to conduct an investigation.

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