Ex-Cop Kills Himself After Causing Fatal Crash

"FOSTERS, AL — The woman killed in what investigators are calling a double murder/suicide had filed for divorce from her husband just three days before.

"Melanie Powell and Ronald Hydrick were killed after Taylor Powell chased and ran them off the road early Sunday morning, according to authorities. The former Sheriff's deputy then shot himself in the head, they said.

"Court records indicate that Melanie Powell had filed for a divorce from her husband of more than 24 years on Thursday.

"Taylor Powell, 52, went to Ronald Hydrick's home on Cypress Road just after midnight Sunday. Powell's wife, Melanie Powell, 51, and Hydrick, 53, were sitting outside when the three were involved in a confrontation, said Tuscaloosa County Metro Homicide Unit Commander Sgt. Dale Phillips.

"While investigators can't be sure about what transpired since all parties are deceased, they believe Taylor Powell chased his wife and Hydrick for about a mile and a half before Hydrick crashed his Ford pickup truck at the bottom of a wooded ravine off Sylvan Loop Road.

"`The vehicle went into a roll and slammed into a tree at a high rate of speed causing tremendous damage,` Phillips said.

"Taylor Powell looked down and saw that they were dead before shooting himself in the head with his revolver, Phillips said."

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