TUSCUMBIA, AL : Two Franklin County men were killed in a one-car accident on Sunday, June 18, 2017

Authorities said two Franklin County men were killed in a one-car accident early Sunday morning.

Troopers said Eddie Allen Dees, 21, of Vina, and Ryan Matthew Smith, 22, of Red Bay, were killed in the accident that happened just before 7:30 a.m.

Senior Trooper Johnathan Appling, a public information officer with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, said the accident happened nine miles south of Tuscumbia on Alabama 247.

Dees and Smith were pronounced dead at the scene by Colbert County Coroner Carlton Utley.

The wreck, which was reported to Colbert County 911 at 7:24 a.m., happened just north of the Mount Springs Drive and Alabama 247 intersection.

Appling said Smith was the driver of the 2007 Ford Explorer, while Dees was the passenger.

Reports indicate the vehicle was traveling south of Alabama 247 when the accident happened.

Emergency personnel at the scene said it appeared the driver lost control of the vehicle and crossed the northbound lane, running off the east side of the roadway.

Officials said when the SUV left the road the vehicle slammed head-on into a large tree.

Authorities said the impact was so severe that the tree ended up inside of the vehicle.

Utley said the vehicle caught fire, but firefighters with the Highway 247 Volunteer Fire Department were able to extinguish it quickly.

He said the victims were killed by the impact of the tree, "not the fire."

Utley said firefighters and rescue personnel worked for three hours trying to remove the victims from the vehicle.

"Today, I was reminded how important our volunteer and paid fire departments are," Utley said. "The personnel from Highway 247 fire department worked tirelessly for three hours at the scene doing all they could. I couldn't do my job without their efforts."

Sunday's wreck were the second and third fatalities in three days in the Shoals. Friday, a Lauderdale County man was killed in a one-car wreck north of Cloverdale.

The two fatalities bring the total to five this month and 21 so far this year in northwest Alabama and the southern Tennessee counties of Wayne and Lawrence.

Source :
2 Franklin County men die in Colbert wreck