Left inset: Tammy Albanese (Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office). Right inset: Teddy Eugene Self (Paterson-Forest Grove Funeral Home & Crematory). Background: The 7000 block of Lock 17 Road in western Jefferson County, Ala., where Teddy Eugene Self was killed in a hit-and-run by Tammy Albanese (Google Maps).
An Alabama woman texting on her cellphone plowed into a 55-year-old man and killed him while he was “checking his mail” — then drove off like nothing happened, cops say.
Tammy Albanese, 56, of Astor, will spend years behind bars after entering a guilty plea on Monday for the deadly hit-and-run of Teddy Eugene Self on Sept. 22, 2022, according to AL.com. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted of reckless manslaughter, with the possibility of parole after serving three years. She was also convicted of leaving the scene of an accident causing injury or death, which landed her a 10-year sentence, of which she must serve two years before being eligible for parole, the local outlet reports.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release after the slaying that Self was struck and killed while “checking his mail” on Lock 17 Road in Bessemer that Thursday at around 2:15 p.m., per cops.
“The Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office reviewed the case presented by Sheriff’s Investigators and issued warrants against 53-year-old Tammy Albanese, also of Bessemer,” the sheriff’s office said.
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Investigators searched Albanese’s phone records and said that they discovered she was texting when she struck Self with her black F-150, according to AL.com. Self was crossing the street to check his mail at the time. The man was pronounced dead less than 15 minutes later by first responders, the outlet reports.
A tip from the public wound up leading cops to Albanese, who was arrested and booked on the manslaughter charge on Sept. 28, 2022. She was released on a $45,000 bond after her arrest and taken back into custody on Monday after entering her guilty plea.
According to AL.com, Albanese is scheduled to be transferred to a state prison this week.
