Four-car wreck snarls traffic
By Staff
Accident leaves two seriously injured, debris along street
Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
A four-vehicle wreck on a four-block stretch of Main Street in Hartselle Monday afternoon left two people with serious injuries and several with heavy property damage.
Joe Barber, 48, and wife Vickie of Priceville were seriously injured when the pickup truck they were in was struck by a car driven by Michael Terry, 30, also of Hartselle. The pickup left the street just east of Sloss and Main, hit a big tree and overturned. Hartselle firefighters had to use the Jaws of Life to free them from the wreckage. Joe Barber was taken by MedFlight to Huntsville Hospital where he was listed in critical condition on Tuesday. Vickie Barber was taken by ambulance to Decatur General Hospital where she was listed in serious condition.
A few seconds earlier, Terry's car collided with a SUV driven by Casandra Garrison, 32, of Hartselle. The collision occurred at Echols and Main. Garrison and her two children were uninjured.
Matthew Bynum, 17, of Hartselle was stopped in his car at Hammitt and Main and was waiting to make a turn on Main when his car was struck by Terry's car. He was taken by ambulance to Hartselle Medical Center where he was treated for a leg injury and discharged.
Terry continued west on Main and was stopped by police at Sycamore and Main, nearly a mile from the first accident scene. He volunteered to go to Hartselle Medical Center for a blood test. No charge was made for leaving the scene of an accident, according to police investigators.
At least two of the accidents occurred as the result of Terry allegedly driving west in the eastbound lane of Main.
The accident was reported to police at 5:39 p.m. and investigators remained on the scene until 10 p.m. During that time both eastbound and westbound traffic was rerouted around the accident scene.
The investigation is continuing.