A 70-year-old Atmore man died Monday afternoon after the vehicle he was driving left the roadway and struck a ditch, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.
The crash happened around 4:45 p.m. on Jack Springs Road near Smith Dairy Road, about one mile north of Atmore, ALEA said in a news release. Officials identified the driver as Larry Wright of Atmore.
According to troopers, Wright was driving on Jack Springs Road when his vehicle left the road and struck a ditch. He was critically injured and taken to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
ALEA said Wright was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. State troopers have not said what caused him to leave the roadway, and the agency’s Highway Patrol Division continues to investigate.
Seatbelt use remains one of the most effective ways to reduce the risk of death or serious injury in a single-vehicle crash. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, seatbelts reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat occupants by roughly 45 percent. Alabama law requires drivers and passengers to wear a seatbelt, and unbuckled occupants are significantly more likely to be ejected or thrown against the interior of a vehicle during a crash.
This is at least the latest in a string of single-vehicle crashes ALEA has investigated on rural roads in south Alabama this year. The agency asks anyone with information about the crash to contact the Alabama State Troopers Highway Patrol Division.