By Jerry Greenway

A one-vehicle accident Thursday, March 1 sent 75 year-old Robert W. Collins, 295 Little Creek Road, Pleasant Shade, TN to Macon County General Hospital after he was briefly pinned in his upside down pickup truck cab. He was transported to the hospital, treated for minor injuries and released that same day.

Contacted at his home Friday morning, March 2, Collins said he was traveling north on the Old Bottom Road at about noon Thursday when his right front tire went off the black top into the ditchline, and he over corrected attempting to get back on the roadway. His blue Dodge Dakota truck overturned, rolled and flipped over, coming to a rest on its top next to a creek bed pointing in the opposite direction from which he had been traveling.

Tri-County employee Steve Morgan and farmer Jimmy Wilburn were reported to be the first persons arriving on the scene. Collins is said to have asked the men for a knife to cut himself free from his seat belt. Rescue Squad personnel arrived shortly thereafter and cut the belt and Collins was assisted out of his wrecked vehicle.

“I'm sure glad I had that seat belt on,” Collins said Friday. “I'd probably have a real sore spot on my head if it wasn't for that seat belt.” A dog, a mixed breed pup, was traveling with Mr. Collins when the accident occurred. The dog was not injured in the mishap, according to his owner.

The accident was investigated by THP Trooper Tracy Donoho, assisted by the Macon County Sheriff's Department, Macon County Rescue Squad and Lafayette Fire Department. There were no charges resulting from the incident.

A Wednesday afternoon, February 28 accident sent two Red Boiling Springs teenagers to Macon County General Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries after their vehicle overturned on the Old Lake Road on the hill just above the intersection with the Old Lake Road and Short Road. The vehicle, a light brown sedan, was traveling south when the driver went off the west side of the roadway, struck several trees before the vehicle overturned and came to rest upsidedown against a tree on the hillside. The windshield of the vehicle was broken out and the occupants were apparently able to exit the vehicle through this opening. Macon County Sheriff's deputy Michael Veach investigated the accident.

THP Troopers Neil FERGUSON AND SGT. WM. “BUTCH” AVERA investigated a Friday morning, March 2 accident in Trousdale County in which the driver of a 1999 Chevrolet Monte Carlo was seriously injured and pinned inside his mangled vehicle for nearly two hours.

Trousdale Rescue Squad and EMS members worked furiously to free 26 year-old Derek D. Satterfield, Gallatin, TN from his vehicle, which had been traveling east on Old Hwy. 25 when it came out of a curve and went over the center line. The accident report states that the “driver over corrected and the vehicle went off the right shoulder and struck a utility pole, then went into a side skid and struck a large rock mailbox column. The Monte Carlo rolled over and came to a rest on its left side.”

Trp. Ferguson's report concludes “it took rescue and EMS approx. 2 hrs. to free the driver from the vehicle.”

After he was finally extracated from the wreck, Satterfield was transported by Air Evac to Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville for treatment of his injuries, which were reported to be critical. Charges in the accident are pending further investigation.

A Trousdale County Sheriff's deputy, Harold Cooley, was reported to have suffered a broken bone in his ankle when he fell in the course of the rescue operation which removed Satterfield from his wrecked auto.