Four dead in U.S. 117 accident
By Catharin Shepard
Published in News on September 19, 2010 1:50 AM
DUDLEY -- Four unidentified males died Saturday night in a head-on vehicle collision on U.S. 117 South Alternate in Dudley.
The white male driver of a gold Chrysler Sebring sedan was traveling at an estimated 70-75 miles per hour when he attempted to pass another vehicle in a no passing zone, state Highway Patrol 1st Sgt. Gerald Burton said.
The driver of the Sebring was attempting to pass a white Dodge truck on a section of road marked with double yellow lines as both vehicles traveled south on U.S. 117 Alternate, according Burton.
The driver of the Sebring lost control of his vehicle and collided with a red Ford Ranger truck that was traveling north, Burton said.
"The Sebring loses control and they both collide here in the northbound lane," Burton said.
The driver and two passengers in the sedan -- a white male riding in the front passenger seat and a black male riding in the left rear passenger seat -- died upon impact, Burton said. The driver of the Ford Ranger was transported to Wayne Memorial Hospital where he died of his injuries.
The excess speed is believed to be a factor in the accident, Burton said.
The white female driver of the Dodge truck was uninjured in the accident, but the truck was named as a third vehicle involved in the wreck.
"She was able to go around it, but debris, flying debris from the other two vehicles" hit the Dodge truck, Burton said.
The accident happened directly in front of the Tri-County Electric office at 4255 U.S. 117 South Alternate. The speed limit on the section of road where the accident occurred is 45 miles per hour.
The driver of the Dodge truck was able to describe the series of events to officials.
The accident happened around 6 p.m. Emergency workers closed both lanes of traffic for several hours until the site could be cleared.
The firefighters used cutters, spreaders and a saw to get the victims out of the car. Crews had to cut away the top of the sedan to extract the
victims.
Officials had not released the names of the victims by News-Argus press time Saturday night as they were attempting to inform the victims' next of kin.