Car plunges off Butcher Bend Road Tuesday night injured three

A 7-year-old child was taken by helicopter from the scene of a Tuesday evening wreck on Wood County 14/4, while the father and a 6-year-old were taken to area hospitals by ambulances, officials said.

The driver of the red 2007 Dodge Nitro, Zachary L. Taylor, 29, of Elizabeth, was unconscious at the scene on Tuesday evening, said Capt. Rick Woodyard with the Wood County Sheriff's Office.

There were two passengers in the vehicle, a 6-year-old male and a 7-year-old male, Woodyard said. Both sons of Zachary Taylor were conscious as they were removed from the vehicle, Woodyard said.

Zachary Taylor was taken to Camden Clark Medical Center Tuesday evening after being removed from this car by the Mineral Wells Volunteer Fire Department after the vehicle crashed along Wood County 14/4. A 6-year-old and a 7-year-old, both males, also were removed from this vehicle and taken to area hospitals, one by helicopter.

The 7-year-old was taken from the scene by helicopter, but the hospital he was taken to was unclear at the time of take-off, Woodyard said.

Authorities were alerted to the single-vehicle accident on Wood County 14/4, known as Butcher Bend Road, at 6:49 p.m. Tuesday, said Woodyard.

Authorities landed the helicopter at the nearby 4-H Fairgrounds in order to evacuate the 7-year-old from the scene, Woodyard said.

Taylor and his 6-year-old son were taken to Camden Clark Medical Center by ambulance for treatment of their injuries, Woodyard said.

The status of all three were unknown Tuesday evening.

The names of the children involved were withheld on Tuesday evening because they were juveniles, Woodyard said.

All three had to be extricated from the vehicle using the Jaws of Life by the Mineral Wells Volunteer Fire Department, said Ray Wright, assistant fire chief.

The Nitro came to rest approximately 75 feet down a steep embankment, with its front end facing toward the roadway, Pickens said.

Once the patients were removed from the vehicle, the Mineral Wells Fire Department had to employ a backboard, basket and rope combination to lift the people to the roadway so officials could perform emergency care until the ambulances arrived, Wright said.

The two children were traveling with their father after visiting relatives on Butcher Bend Road, said Sgt. B.A. Pickens with the Wood County Sheriff's Office.

The Wood County Sheriff's Office, the Wood County Crash Investigation Team, and the Mineral Wells Volunteer Fire Department responded to the scene, which occurred on the first entrance to Butcher Bend Road, leading toward the 4-H Fairgrounds, down the hill from the intersection with Forshay Road.

Taylor had been traveling westbound on Wood County 14/4 at an unknown rate of speed, climbing the hill from the 4-H Fairgrounds area, said Pickens. Speed is believed to be a factor in the accident, Pickens said.

When the road curved to the left on the side of the mountain, Taylor's Nitro exited the road, hitting the gravel berm to the right, Pickens said.

Taylor accelerated off of the roadway and the passenger side hit a tree, stripping the tree of its bark in the impact location, Pickens said.

The vehicle then went airborne for approximately 20 feet before it struck a "very large tree" head-on, Pickens said. The tree was approximately 12 feet off of the road, Pickens said.

The tree was approximately half of the width of the vehicle at the point of impact.

The crash remains under investigation, Pickens said.