RUSSELLVILLE — One man was killed and another seriously injured in an accident Wednesday.

State troopers said Larry Edward Presley, 64, 35 Bama Lane, Russellville, was killed in the two-vehicle accident.

He was pronounced dead at the scene by Franklin County Coroner Elize Malone.

The accident occurred at 2:25 a.m. on U.S. 43, just south of Franklin 36.

Uthell Bankston, 71, of Phil Campbell, was injured in the accident and was flown to Huntsville Hospital. Hospital officials said Bankston was in critical condition after undergoing surgery Wednesday.

Friends of the family said he was in serious condition.

“He’s not doing good,” friend and next-door neighbor Greg Beasley said. “He’s banged up pretty good.”

Troopers said Presley was driving a 2012 Chevrolet Sonic and collided head-on with a 1992 Chevrolet truck driven by Bankston.

Officials at the scene said Bankston was northbound on U.S. 43 and Presley’s vehicle crossed the roadway and was traveling south in the northbound lane.

Beasley, a chaplain for the state trooper post, talked with the family.

“I really felt for them,” Beasley said. “They were shocked, of course, and searching for answers.”

Officials said the family did not know that Presley had left the house, and did not know where he might have been going.

Friends said Presley had worked for Buffalo Rock/Pepsi for about 18-19 years.

Ron Henry, a retired employee with Buffalo Rock, said he worked with Presley for years.

“He was a route salesman for a long time,” Henry said. “He worked a lot in the Arley and Addison areas of Winston County. I would see him in the mornings and at night.

“He was a really good man. Everybody loved him.”

Henry said hearing the news of Presley’s death makes him realize how precious and short life is.

“It makes you realize you never know what will happen when you leave your house,” Henry said.

The fatality is the 48th in northwest Alabama and the southern Tennessee counties of Wayne and Lawrence this year. It is the first in November.

The accident remains under investigation by the Quad-Cities trooper post.

Tom Smith can be reached at 256-740-5757 or tom.smith@TimesDaily.com.