Trace crash kills driver

A Mississippi man drowned Tuesday when his car left the Natchez Trace Parkway near Central and went into a creek of rushing water.

The man's wife was a passenger in the silver BMW, but was able to free herself from the car and withstand the swift current to get to safety.

The couple's names were not released Tuesday night, pending family notification.

Lauderdale County Coroner Andy High pronounced the man dead from drowning. He was 72. He and his wife were from Saltillo, Miss., emergency officials said.

They were on their way to visit relatives in Tennessee.

The wreck was reported at 3:58 p.m., Central Volunteer Fire Chief Terry Lovelace said. It occurred at Burcham Creek, about a half-mile from the Alabama 20 intersection.

The vehicle was northbound and crossed over the southbound lane and into a ravine that leads to the creek. Two muddy lines in the ditch from the wheels indicated the path the car took. The path began shortly before the bridge and ended at the creek, where some tree limbs were broken from the impact.

Rescue workers said the creek had swelled to about 7 or 8 feet deep with brown, muddy water. They said a resident of the area told them it normally is only about a foot deep.

The National Park Service is investigating the crash since it occurred on the parkway.

Rescue workers had to be careful because of the swiftness of the creek. Lovelace said the workers were on both sides of the bank looking for the vehicle, which was found about one-fourth of a mile downstream.

"It's a real dense area, and the creek has a lot of undertow," he said. "It's hard for them to get into it right now."

A swift-water rescue unit was on the scene, but officials decided to wait until the creek water subsided once they determined that their mission had changed from rescue to recovery, said George Grabryan, director of the Lauderdale County Emergency Management Agency.

The body and vehicle were recovered around 8 p.m.

"We are trying to work as safely as we can," Grabryan said. "It's loose footing, and someone could very easily be taken down the creek rapidly."

The victim was wearing a seat belt and the vehicle was on its side, submerged. Once the water had subsided enough to get to the car, the body was removed.

A tractor had been brought in to clear a path to the creek. It also pulled out the vehicle.

Authorities set up a staging area in a yard on Alabama 20 that leads to the portion of the creek where the vehicle had floated.

The victim's wife was given dry clothes, and sat in a rocking chair on the front porch of the house at the staging area. A female rescue worker stayed with her the entire time, talking with her and comforting her. The victim's wife made several phone calls to notify loved ones, but wasn't able to contact every close relative.

She told emergency workers that she doesn't remember how she got out of the car. She said she just remembers the car sliding, and that she somehow managed to free herself.

The wreck occurred while it was raining, but officials haven't determined whether that was a factor or if there was another factor, such as driver fatigue. "We don't know if it was due to the driver's condition or road condition," Grabryan said.

Bernie Delinski can be reached at 740-5739 or bernie.delinski@timesdaily.com.