Head-on collision shuts down South Dixie Highway

Three people and a dog were injured Thursday night in a head-on collision on South Dixie Highway just south of New Hope Community Church.

Jill Pickett

A two-vehicle wreck shuts down South Dixie Highway as first responders work at the scene Thursday evening along the highway south of the intersection with Dee Street.

Buy this photo

Greg Lowe, spokesman for the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office, said deputies responded between 7:15 and 7:30 p.m. to the 3400 block of South Dixie.

According to the sheriff’s office, a white Pontiac Grand Am was southbound on Dixie Highway when, for unknown reasons, the driver lost control of the vehicle, leaving the roadway on the right shoulder.

The driver overcorrected, re-entered the road and was spinning at a 180-degree angle when the car struck a northbound silver Ford Escape, sending it into a ditch, Lowe said.

Mike Hulsey, chief of the Elizabethtown Fire Department, said firefighters had to pry open the Grand Am’s passenger side door to remove the driver, Richard B. Lawler, 26, of Glendale who sustained “a serious head injury.”

He was airlifted to University Hospital in Louisville.

“He wasn’t in good shape when he left here,” Lowe said of Lawler.

The SUV’s driver, Rebecca M. Wiliford, 45, of Sonora and passenger, John W. Godbey, 41, of Sonora were transported to Hardin Memorial Hospital, Hulsey said.

A small dog sitting in the passenger’s lap took the brunt of the SUV’s airbag and sustained serious injuries, Hulsey said.

According to Lowe, Hardin County Animal Control transported the dog from the scene.

The sheriff’s office and EFD were assisted by Hardin County EMS, Central Hardin Fire Department and Elizabethtown Police Department.

As emergency crews were clearing the area, traffic on Dixie Highway was closed from Dawn Street to Dee Street in both directions, Lowe said. Southbound traffic was diverted at Lincoln Parkway.

Sarah Bennett can be reached at (270) 505-1750 or sbennett@thenewsenterprise.com.