FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 16, 2026
MOBILE, Alabama – Mobile County District Attorney Keith Blackwood announced today that a Mobile County jury found Aubrey Aaron Pateguilty of Reckless Manslaughter in the 2022 death of Victor Birch.
Burch was killed on September 25, 2022, when Pate’s pickup truck crossed into oncoming traffic and collided head-on with Birch’s vehicle on Rangeline Road near the Industrial Canal bridge.
During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Pate had consumed alcohol and used marijuana before getting behind the wheel. Testing following the crash showed marijuana in Pate’s system, and evidence presented by the State showed that Pate had a significant level of alcohol in his system at the time of the crash. Prosecutors also presented expert testimony regarding the combined effects of alcohol and marijuana and their impact on a person’s ability to safely operate a vehicle.
The State argued that Pate’s decision to drive under those circumstances, followed by the deadly head-on collision that killed Birch, demonstrated an extreme indifference to human life.
“This case is a devastating reminder that choosing to drive after consuming alcohol and drugs can have irreversible consequences,” said District Attorney Keith Blackwood. “Victor Birch did nothing wrong. He was simply driving down the road when his life was taken because of the reckless decisions of another person. A jury has held Aubrey Pate accountable for those decisions and for the life that was lost as a result.”
Birch was a longtime postal worker and beloved member of Mobile’s running community.
The State was represented by Assistant District Attorneys Ashley Rich and Megan Everett, Trial Coordinator Carolyn Lambeth and MCDA Chief Investigator Don Boykin.
Aubrey Pate’s sentencing is set for September 18, 2026.