Three killed in separate Floyd crashes

By TONY FYFFE

BSN Editor

PRESTONSBURG — Three people were killed in two separate car crashes in Floyd County Thursday.

Samuel Kelly, 18 of David, was pronounced dead at the scene of the first collision, which occurred Thursday morning on U.S. 23 in Prestonsburg.

Prestonsburg 911 received several phone calls around 6:30 a.m. Thursday concerning a two-vehicle crash on U.S. 23 near the intersection of Big Branch of Abbott Creek, according to a press release by the Prestonsburg Police Department.

The department’s initial investigation indicated that a 2007 Toyota Camry driven by Kelly was traveling south of U.S. 23 when it crossed the median and collided with a 1998 Kenworth combination unit operated by Tommy Pease of Ermine. The release said the collision occurred in an “opposite direction sideswipe manner.”

Kelly was pronounced dead at the scene by Floyd County Coroner Greg Nelson, while Pease was transported to Highlands ARH Regional Medical Center, where “he departed on his own accord,” the press release said.

The Prestonsburg police and fire departments were assisted at the scene by Kentucky State Police, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement, the Floyd County Sheriff's Office, the Pikeville Police Department and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.

Prestonsburg Captain Ross Shurtleff and Lt, George Tussey are investigating the crash.

“Should you have any information about this collision or happened to have witnessed it, please call 606-886-1010,” the release said.

Kelly was a construction worker and a graduate of Prestonsburg High School, where he was remembered on the school’s Facebook page Thursday evening.

“Our hearts are broken, but it is during times like this that we must band a little closer together, hug one another a little tighter, smile, even when it’s hard to, enjoy one another’s company, and show our love for one another while we can,” the school said. “Sam was one of a kind. He had a smile and sense of humor that was contagious and an undeniable sense of adventure. We are definitely blessed to have known Sam and to have had him as part of our Blackcat family.”

Funeral services for Kelly are 1 p.m. today (Wednesday) at Nelson-Frazier Funeral Home at Martin, with burial in Dewey Shepherd Cemetery at David.

The sheriff’s office and other emergency personnel responded to a single-vehicle collision on Rt. 80 near the Rt. 680 intersection at Eastern at approximately 8 a.m. Thursday.

The crash claimed the lives of Ronald Williams, 54, and his mother, Madge Williams, 80, both of MacDowell, according to the sheriff’s office.

Two others were air-lifted from the scene to Cabell Huntington Hospital in Huntington, W.Va., but their names were not released.

Funeral services for Ronald Williams, a retired truck driver, and Madge Williams, a retired nurse, were Sunday, Nov. 8, at the New Salem Association Building at Minnie, with burial in Lucy Hall Cemetery at McDowell.