OZARK: 8:34 PM. Ozark – Dale County 911 dispatched Ozark Police and Ozark Fire – Rescue to a vehicle verses a pedestrian accident.
The accident location is in the 200 block of East Highway 27. The roadway is completely blocked. ALEA – Troopers and Dale County Sheriff Deputies are on the scene.
There are critical injuries. More information when available.
UPDATED @ 6:42 AM.
Dale County Coroner John Cawley has identified the deceased as 73 year old Willie Earl Jones. The body will be transported to Montgomery for a post mortem examination by Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences.
SPECIAL NOTE: This call happened at 8:34 PM. WTVY (Ken Curtis – Henderson) at about 8:51 PM posted on Facebook “ #BREAKING Pedestrian killed near Ozark, per reports.” RSN knew this was a fatality when we posted the article. However, RSN lists these matters as Critical until we can confirm family has been notified. As one who has, and currently at times still has to, notify families of deaths of their loved ones, I attempt to hold that it is a fatality until family has been notified. If you have ever had to make those notifications it will forever stick with you. There is no easy way to make the notification or ease the pain in the message you are about to deliver. Having been Coroner at 22 years old and making the notifications, it will forever rest in your mind.
That is the reason RSN holds it is critical until we know family is notified. RSN has made mistakes over the years, but learned from those mistakes. It is not about being first with the news, it is about caring for people.
