Two seriously hurt on Cooper Road
Two people were seriously injured Tuesday morning in a head-on crash on Cooper Road.
The victims, Michael D. Newman, 38, and Larry Spell Jr., 43, were both airlifted from River Park Hospital shortly after the 8:35 a.m. wreck. Newman suffered head injuries while Spell suffered a leg injury.
According to Highway Patrolman Mike Tanner, the accident was triggered shortly after Newman ran a stop sign at the intersection of Cooper and Doyle Frazier roads. Tanner said Newman, who was westbound on Cooper Road in a Dodge pickup, had traveled about 100 feet past the stop sign and was approaching a curve when he saw an oncoming Ford pickup and attempted to slow down. However, upon hitting his brakes, Newman’s vehicle slid straight, hitting Spell’s eastbound truck head-on as Spell was approaching the stop sign.
Neither driver suffered what is believed to be life-threatening injuries. Newman will be cited for failure to stop at a stop sign.