Lauderdale sees fourth fatality in four days

FLORENCE - Lauderdale County endured its fourth fatal wreck in as many days Sunday evening when a pickup apparently turned into the path of an 18-wheeler at Cox Creek Parkway and Savannah Highway.

One person was killed and another occupant in the pickup was airlifted to Huntsville Hospital with serious injuries.

The identities of the male victims have not been released pending family notification. The pickup has Oregon license tags.

Witnesses said the pickup was turning left from Savannah onto Cox Creek Parkway when the impact occurred shortly before 6 p.m. The impact threw the pickup into a culvert on the side of the road.

The 18-wheeler, which was northbound, came to a stop at Savannah Highway after leaving a long path of skid marks. The driver of the 18-wheeler was not seriously injured.

This is the fourth fatal wreck since Thursday in the county, and fifth in northwest Alabama during that span.

Fishing equipment and lawn chairs from the pickup were strewn along the highway.

A Lauderdale County sheriff's deputy was stopped in the turning lane on Savannah Highway, directly behind the pickup, when the wreck occurred.

The deputy said the pickup pulled in front of the truck, sending the pickup skidding, partially airborne, into the ditch. He said the two males in the pickup suffered tremendous head injuries.

Gas leaked from the pickup's engine and flamed up, but volunteer firefighters arrived quickly to extinguish it when the deputy sent a call out on the radio.

Firefighters from Central, Oakland, Underwood-Petersville and Cloverdale volunteer departments responded.

Numerous emergency workers commented while working the wreck that this is a particularly dangerous intersection.

"This is the type of wreck I've been afraid of here," Oakland Fire Chief Robert Smith said.

Cox Creek comes to an end at Savannah, forming a T-shaped intersection.

Smith said his department has worked three wrecks since November in which the motorist drove from Cox Creek, not realizing the parkway had come to an end, crossed Savannah and landed in a field on the other side of the highway. Those didn't result in fatalities.

He said it's difficult to see when turning in any direction at the intersection.

"The intersection needs to be lit," Smith said. "It's an accident waiting to happen. There also needs to be some type of warning light to warn motorists about the

intersection."

Sunday's was the 36th fatality of 2008 in northwest Alabama and the Tennessee counties of Wayne and Lawrence. It also marked the third straight Sunday with a fatal wreck.

Bernie Delinski can be reached at 740-5739 or bernie.delinski@TimesDaily.com.