Piedmont, AL – At 3:29 pm on Monday, the Piedmont Police and Fire Department responded to a vehicle crash located on Highway 21 in front of the Piedmont High School. Upon arrival they located a Silver Ford F-15 pickup truck and Dark Blue Chevrolet Venture minivan with substantial damage to both front ends.
Piedmont Police Chief, Nathan Johnson, advised that according to witnesses “the minivan was driving in an irregular way and the vehicle crossed over into the other lane striking the pickup head-on.” During the course of the on-scene investigation the police do not believe that either driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. “At this time the crash appears to be due to a medical issue that was occurring with one of the drivers.”
The driver of the minivan, identified as Donald “Donnie” Hill, 59, of Piedmont died on the scene. Calhoun County Coroner, Pat Brown, stated that he believes that Hill was experiencing a medical emergency, a possible heart attack, that caused him to leave his lane of travel. The current cause of death is listed as blunt force trauma with an underlying second cause of medical emergency.
The 7-year-old passenger riding with Hill sustained serious injuries and was air lifted to Children’s of Alabama Hospital in Birmingham and was listed in serious condition.
The driver of the pickup truck was transported to a local hospital with injuries from the crash, he is expected to recover from his injuries.
