By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
Two local men were injured, one critically, in a two-vehicle crash that happened Sunday, June 28, on a rural highway.
According to Alabama State Trooper reports, 22-year-old Cody L. Rolin and Austin R. Shuttlesworth, 23, were both flown by medical evacuation helicopter to area hospitals after the collision, which took place around 4:15 p.m. on Manack Bridge, which spans Booneville Road.
According to a member of Shuttlesworth’s family, the 23-year-old, who was a passenger in the Yamaha Utility Task Vehicle involved in the crash, was treated and released from an undisclosed hospital, while Rolin, who was driving the UTV, remained on Tuesday at an area trauma center, in critical condition.
Shuttlesworth’s mother posted on Facebook that her son “is pretty banged up and very sore.” Rolin, she wrote, “continues to fight for his life” and “needs a miracle.” She asked for prayers to help him recover from his injuries.
State troopers reported that the Yamaha, a “side-by-side” off-road vehicle that seats two-to-four people, was traveling north on Booneville Road when it collided with a 2014 Chevrolet SUV that was headed south. Troopers reported that the impact happened on the bridge.
Both of the injured men were reportedly taken by ambulance to McCullough Christian Center, where they were loaded aboard Lifeflight helicopters and transported to medical centers.
The driver of the Chevrolet, Kristin M. Smith of Atmore (no age provided), was not injured.