1 dead, another injured in afternoon crash on Highway 68

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A local man was killed and another victim severely injured after a near head-on collision Tuesday afternoon on Highway 68 near Fairdealing.

First responders were dispatched about 12:40 p.m. Tuesday to the intersection of Salem Chapel Road and Highway 68 in reference to an accident that shut down traffic for about two hours, according to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.

Marshall County Sheriff Kevin Byars said Wilson Collins, 66, of Fairdealing was driving west on Hwy. 68 with his wife, Sheila Collins, in a tan 2005 Toyota Camry, when an unknown condition caused him to lose consciousness and slump over at the wheel. He veered into the path of a gold 2005 Ford Excursion driven by Billie Jones, 78, of Calvert City, as it was traveling east on Hwy. 68. The two met in an “offset head-on collision,” Byars said.

“We don’t know for sure, of course we won’t know until we get the autopsy and stuff back,” Byars said. “But we feel like he possibly had a heart attack. (He) slumped over the wheel and when he did it just brought him right into the path of the other vehicle.”

Collins was taken to Marshall County Hospital Emergency Room, where he was pronounced dead. His wife was uninjured in the crash.

One occupant in Jones’ vehicle suffered serious injuries and was airlifted to Deaconess Hospital in Evansville, Ind., according to Byars.

Marshall County Sheriff’s Department was assisted on scene by the East Marshall Fire Department, Fairdealing-Olive Fire Department, Marshall County EMS, Marshall County Rescue Squad and Air Evac.

The investigation remains ongoing.