By Staff
Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
Leaving the scene of an accident turned out to be a deadly mistake for a Hartselle woman on Monday, as she became Hartselle's first highway fatality in 2006.
Melody Thrasher Livingston, 41, was apparently killed instantly at approximately 12:45 p.m. when the car she was ran off the road and crashed into a driveway culvert in the 2900 block of Barkley Bridge Road.
The accident occurred just a few minutes after she left the scene of another wreck on Pattillo Street, according to Hartselle Police Department investigator Lt. Justin Barley.
Morgan County Coroner Russ Beard pronounced the woman dead at the scene at 2:20 p.m. He said she suffered multiple head and chest injuries even though she was wearing a seat belt.
Barley said the victim was involved in a two-vehicle wreck on Pattillo Street and died in a second accident while leaving from the first. He said the two wrecks occurred about two miles apart. No injuries were reported in the Pattillo Street wreck.
Barley said the accident is still under investigation.
HPD reported only one fatality resulting from a traffic accident in 2005. It occurred Dec. 18 on Moss Chapel Road and claimed the life of Patrick Haley, 16, of Decatur.
Funeral arrangements for Livingston were handled by Parkway Funeral Home.