After his wife was robbed at gunpoint in December, Alabama trucker Lyn Adams decided to run for state lieutenant governor as a Libertarian candidate with a platform focused on crime fighting. Adams’ concern about crime took a chilling turn Sept. 21, when his wife Kellie was shot in the head during an attempted robbery at a state-run liquor store in Montgomery, Ala., where she clerked. A fellow worker was killed.
Truckers News profiled Adams and his wife in its August issue.
Adams, 34, who has been a truck driver for a decade, said last year’s robbery at another store had even inspired his wife to run for office as a Montgomery County revenue commissioner. Now, he says he doesn’t know how they will handle their separate races for office following the shooting.
“We’re taking it one day at a time,” said Adams, during a visit to his wife at Jackson Hospital. “I’ve never gone through something like this. My name is on the ballot and her name is on the ballot. That won’t change.”
The week following the shooting, Adams said his 24-year-old wife was in critical but stable condition. She was working as a clerk with store manager Claudine Parker, 52, also of Montgomery, who was killed in the attempt, according to published reports.
“We had never gotten involved in politics before,” he said. “One of our biggest issues was crime. Think what the odds were. The stores were two miles apart.”
Surgeons had removed the breathing tube from Mrs. Adams throat, he said. Her face neck and arm muscle control could be affected, but she currently can write notes and recognize visitors, Adams said.
On Sept. 24, Alabama Gov. Don Siegleman added $10,000 to the $7,000 reward already posted by the city and county for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the gunman.
Adams drives for Loftin Bros. Trucking, delivering alcohol to the state’s ABC stores. His platform includes focusing on the needs of truckers and bringing casinos to Alabama to help decrease state budget problems.
