COLBERT HEIGHTS, AL—
Alabama State Troopers are investigating a wreck that killed three people south of Tuscumbia.It happened on Wednesday, around 9:15pm in the 5400 block of Woodmont Drive near Valley View Drive in the Colbert Heights community.
Authorities say the driver of the 2009 Toyota, 33-year-old Gary French, Sr. was thrown from the car. The driver's son, Gary French, Jr., 13, also died, along with passenger Harvey Brannon, age 20.
They were trapped inside the vehicle. Emergency workers say French, Sr. apparently lost control of the car, which left the roadway and flipped.
All of the accident victims lived on County Farm Road, which is near the place where the accident happened.
The deaths have left friends, family, and members of the community in a world of hurt. Shocked is the word to describe the state of mind Colbert Heights Assistant Principal Brudgie Davis is in right now. He's lost a third student in less than three months.
"We've experienced a lot of tragedy this year with our students," says Davis. "It has affected our schools and our community. It's been really difficult."
On March 25, 2009, 15-year-old Dalton Stewart died in a wreck on U.S. 43. State troopers say the truck his mother was driving likely hydro-planed, hit a tree, and crashed into a ravine.
Two days later, another student died. On March 27, 2009, 14-year-old Hunter Moore was killed as he was returning home with three friends when he stepped into the path of a passing vehicle.
"We've just been encouraging one another and staying close with one another," explains Davis. "We try and communicate the best way we can with each other to get us through this."
Gary French, Jr. just finished seventh grade at Colbert Heights Middle School. Davis says that he will always remember gary as a quiet, helpful, and positive young man.
"I don't think you'll find anybody that would say anything bad about Gary, " says Davis. "I'll always remember the smile. Every time I approached him and talked to him, he always had that big grin on his face."
