DECATUR -- A two-vehicle accident involving an SUV towing a boat and a loaded gravel truck sent one person to the hospital and left two vehicles destroyed and a boat and trailer severely damaged.
The accident occurred at the corner of Crystal Lake Road and Arkansas Highway 59, just north of Decatur, around 3 p.m. on July 9.
A white 2007 Ford Expedition driven by Aaron Harris of Decatur was turning left onto Crystal Lake Road when a 1995 Freightliner dump truck driven by Clarence Eugene Morris of Anderson, Mo., swerved into the northbound lane and struck the SUV broadside, sending both vehicles through a steel fence. Both vehicles came to rest in a field on the northwest corner of Crystal Lake Airport.
A boat pulled by the Expedition was knocked off its trailer and came to rest just off the pavement on Crystal Lake Road.
Harris was taken to a hospital with possible rib and back injuries. The conditions of two children, who were passengers in the Harris car, and Morris, the driver of the gravel truck, were not given.
A third vehicle driven by Rafevette Jackson, stopped behind the SUV, was not involved in the crash.
Morris was cited for failure to yield the right of way and released.
This was the fourth such accident that has occurred at this intersection in almost two years. On Aug. 11, 2016, Doreen Martin of Decatur was killed in a head-on two-vehicle crash just south of Crystal Lake Road. Less than a week later, on Aug. 17, 2016, a three-vehicle accident (in the same location as the July 9 incident) sent three Decatur area residents to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The third accident earlier this year sent a Decatur truck driver to the hospital.
Those driving in this area should be aware that there is a no passing zone near the intersection and bridge on Highway 59. Motorists traveling southbound should gauge their speed and use extra caution when driving southbound through this dangerous intersection.
General News on 07/25/2018