Adacia Chambers

The lawyer representing the woman charged with driving into Oklahoma State University homecoming parade-goers claims she may suffer from mental illness that could’ve contributed to the crash.

Tony Coleman, attorney for Adacia Chambers, on Wednesday filed an application for determination of competency, submitting a psychological evaluation made by Dr. Shawn Roberson, a Forensic Psychologist out of Edmond, Oklahoma, who diagnosed Chambers with Bipolar I Disorder.

In the evaluation, Roberson writes that Chambers “presented with signs of severe mental illness, which would impair her competency in my opinion.”

Roberson reported that Chambers’ mental status appeared to “vacillate” or waver. He wrote that Chambers told him the year was 2016, but that she was aware she was in a detention center.

“Her statements suggested that she was unaware of why she was in the detention center and she was not grounded in reality, frequently making inappropriate religious references. Based upon her vocabulary and clinical presentation her intelligence is estimated to be approximately in the average range,” Roberson wrote.

Roberson reported that Chambers was able to tell him that she was from Oologah, Oklahoma, denied that she had moved from there, before another odd exchange.

“I inquired at what point she moved away from Oologah, as reports stated that she no longer lived there. She denied this was the case, but irrelevantly voiced, ‘We’ll it’s changed now. Jesus died for me.’ I asked what she meant by that and she replied ‘I guess it’s in and of itself.’ Ms. Chambers suggested that she was currently ‘talking to Jesus’ and suggested that I was Jesus. She then digressed into an explanation about how she was to marry ‘Jesus’ and ‘God.’ Shortly thereafter she began crying hysterically, stating ‘I miss Jesus.’ I asked Ms. Chambers how long she believed she had been in jail and she replied ‘Seems like forever.’ I asked her several other questions, but her responses were nonsensical. She was unable to describe why she was in jail, asking “Is it because of something I didn’t do or did do? I think it’s because of something I didn’t do.’”

The evaluation comes nearly two weeks after Chambers drove her car into a college homecoming parade and was subsequently was charged with four counts of second-degree murder. 

Four people died and at least 46 were injured after she ran her car through the Oklahoma State University homecoming parade in the college town of Stillwater, Oklahoma on Saturday, October 24. 

Additional charges against Chambers, 25, stemming from those injured, brings the total to about 50 charges against her. She is currently being held on $1 million bail after being arrested Saturday, Oct. 24 on suspicion of driving under the influence.

“The evidence indicates Chambers consciously drove through a red light, around a police barricade, over a police motorcycle and farther into a large crowd of highly visible, innocent people enjoying the OSU homecoming day festivities,” Payne County District Attorney Laura Austin Thomas said in court last week. “The acts alleged in the affidavit suggest this was a purposeful criminal act committed upon a large gathering of innocent men, women and children.”

Roberson wrote that Chambers told him she had a history of prolonged sleeplessness for several days in a row, and was very emotionally elated at this time. Roberson wrote that Chambers’ affect ranged from elation and hysterical laughter to uncontrollable sobbing. Roberson cited her history of mental treatment and wrote that she had exhibited signs of mood disorder and psychotic features during his evaluation.

“My diagnostic impression was that she was currently suffering from Bipolar I Disorder, Manic Episode with Mixed and Psychotic Features,” he writes.

He wrote that she is a danger to herself and others and met the criteria for inpatient psychiatric treatment.

The next scheduled court appearance for Chambers is 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 13.

The story first appeared in The Stillwater (Oklahoma) News press.