Two Atmore residents, including the owner of a local barbecue restaurant, were killed in a violent two-car collision that occurred Friday night (April 28) on Jack Springs Road.
According to reports filed by Alabama Law Enforcement Agency State Troopers, 37-year-old Christopher Henry Lowe and 22-year-old Shalonda Trenee Rudolph were both pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, which happened around 9:45 p.m.
Trooper reports indicate that a 1991 Chevrolet that Lowe was driving and a 2005 Nissan driven by Rudolph crashed head-on on the heavily traveled, two-lane highway. Lowe, who owned Brickyard BBQ, was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from his vehicle when the cars collided about two miles north of Atmore.
A three-year-old passenger in the Nissan was not in a child restraint and was also ejected. The toddler was transported to North Baldwin Infirmary in Bay Minette, where Facebook postings indicate that she remained on Tuesday.
No other details were available by Tuesday’s press deadline as troopers continued their investigation.
Five-car collision
A Walnut Hill woman remained in a Pensacola hospital, in critical condition, on Tuesday after she was injured in a predawn collision that happened Sunday (April 30) in that city and ultimately involved five vehicles.
Florida Highway Patrol troopers reported that Sonja Syria, 51, was driving her 2000 Ford Escort eastward on Marcus Pointe Boulevard, approaching the city street’s intersection with Pensacola Boulevard (U.S. 29), around 4:03 a.m. when she failed to yield the right-of-way to a 2014 Nissan Altima that was southbound on U.S. 29.
When the Escort entered the intersection, the Nissan slammed into its driver’s side, redirecting it in a southerly direction and causing it to collide with a 2016 Chevrolet Colorado that was parked in the lot of a car dealership, where it was for sale, and pushing it into a 2014 Jeep Wrangler that was also among the dealership’s inventory.
The Nissan-Jeep collision caused the Nissan to then collide with a 2010 Mercury GLK 350 that was also for sale at the car lot.
Syria was taken by ambulance to Sacred Heart Hospital. The driver of the Nissan, 31-year-old John McMahon of Pensacola, suffered injuries that were listed as “serious” and was also taken by ambulance to Sacred Heart.
Charges are pending the results of a blood-alcohol test administered to the Walnut Hill woman.
Fatal ATV mishap
A 16-year-old Cantonment, Fla., girl died Saturday, April 29, in a Brewton hospital as a result of injuries she suffered earlier that day when her 2004 Polaris ATV crashed on a rural Escambia County road.
According to ALEA State Trooper reports, the single-vehicle crash happened around 2:45 p.m. on Old Castleberry Road (Escambia County 9), about 1.5 miles north of Brewton.
Reports show that the teen, whose name was not released, was not wearing a helmet at the time of the mishap. She was taken by ambulance to D.W. McMillan Memorial Hospital in Brewton, where she succumbed to her injuries.
The investigation by state troopers was still ongoing at Tuesday’s press deadline.