Woman spent hours in flipped vehicle

Published 12:00 am Monday, January 25, 2010

A Vicksburg woman was in good condition at the University Medical Center today after being trapped in an overturned SUV in Jefferson County for about four hours Sunday morning.

Melanie Wells, 21, 139 China Grove Lane, told authorities she was headed north on Highway 552 toward Stonington Road when a deer crossed in front of her 1999 Ford Expedition, causing her to lose control and the vehicle to flip, Jefferson County Sheriff Peter Walker said.

Wells, an Alcorn State University student, told officials she had been in the vehicle for hours before rescue arrived.

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“Well, we don’t know when it occurred. A passer-by informed us of the accident. Once we were notified, we responded immediately,” said Walker.

The sheriff, who lives near the accident site, said the vehicle was found upside down in a secluded ditch after 6 a.m.

“It’s not traveled that much, especially in the a.m. hours,” said Walker. The sheriff said Wells was going to pick up a friend and believes she was wearing her seat belt when the SUV flipped. She suffered a cut on her neck and injuries to her shoulder and the lower part of her body, officials said .

While at school, Wells lives off campus in the Red Lick community of Jefferson County.

Separately, one of two Vicksburg teens taken to the hospital Friday night after a two-car wreck in Bovina remained in the hospital this morning.

Driver Daniel Clow, 16, 900 Newit Vick Drive, was in good condition at River Region Medical Center, hospital spokesman Allen Karel said, and Clow’s passenger, Austin Smith, 17, 124 Clear Creek Road, was treated and released.

The Ford Ranger, driven by Clow, collided with a Dodge Ram pickup driven by Keith Stennett, 38, 1693 Birdsong Road, at Tiffentown Road and Interstate 20 off ramp. A call to Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol, which investigated the wreck, was not returned this morning.

Stennett did not go to the hospital. No other wreck information was available.