Police investigating fatal Jacksonville crash in Alabama

Jacksonville police believe two people killed in car crash last night were not wearing seat belts.The wreck occurred at 7:46 p.m., when a car struck a tree at the intersection of Church Street Southeast and Belmont Circle in Jacksonville, according to Calhoun County Assistant Coroner Shane Adrian.

Adrian said 40-year-old Randy Blake Pettus, Jr. and 33-year-old Amanda Rae Pinson were both pronounced dead on scene at 8:17 p.m.Jacksonville police Chief Tommy Thompson said Pettus and Pinson both lived in Anniston. Thompson said the speed limit where the crash occurred is 25 mph, but the chief believes the 2003 Ford Mustang was travelling much faster.Thompson said it appears the car did not slow down before it hit the tree.

The car was travelling south on Church Street and struck the tree on the front passenger side. The impact caused the car to spin, flip over and land facing north, Thompson said.Thompson said the accident is still under investigation and police expect to know later this week what speed the car was travelling.Out of 513 people killed in car accidents in Alabama last year, 251 of them were not wearing seatbelts, according to data collected by the Alabama Department of Public Safety.