Former interim fire chief loses appeal in fatal hit-and-run accident

Selma’s former interim fire chief is on his way to prison after losing an appeal on a fatal hit-and-run conviction, AL.com has reported.

Franklin Nelson Edwards was convicted in March 2025 of leaving the scene of an accident involving a death or injury, a class-C felony, in a jury trial at the Bessemer Cutoff Courthouse. Edwards was given a sentence of 10 years with three that must be served.

Edwards appealed, but the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals upheld the conviction this week. AL.com said Edwards is in the Jefferson County Jail awaiting transfer to the Alabama Department of Corrections.

Matthew Scott Sartin, 22, of Pineville, Louisiana, died when his motorcycle was hit on Interstate 59 near Bessemer in June 2020. An abandoned car was found about two miles away. That car was later determined to belong to Edwards.

Edwards was acquitted of a charge of manslaughter, according to court records. 

In an unrelated case, Edwards was arrested July 26, 2024 and charged with first degree theft of property, according to the Alabama State Fire Marshal's Office. Edwards was taken into custody by Alabama State Fire Marshall’s Office deputies with assistance from the Dallas County Sheriff's Office.

Edwards served as Selma’s interim fire chief for several months in 2024.