UA student dead in Sunday crash
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, August 31, 2010
A University of Alabama student is dead after a two-vehicle accident Sunday on U.S. Hwy. 331.
The accident occurred at approximately 4:23 p.m. at Cook’s Bridge, located just north of Opp, when the 2003 Honda Accord, driven by 19-year-old Nicole Michelle Francois of Plantation, Fla., and traveling northbound on U.S. Hwy. 331, swerved off the eastside of the highway. It is believed Francois over-corrected and re-entered the northbound land, crossed over into the opposing southbound lane where it was struck by a 2008 Volvo XC9, driven by Winston Evans, 61, of Nashville. Evans’ mother, 88-year-old Elaine Evans, was a passenger in the vehicle.
Francois was pronounced dead at the scene, and the Evanses were transported to Mizell Memorial Hospital for treatment for significant injuries.
The Opp Police Department and Covington County Sheriff’s Office had to divert traffic around the crash scene until 6:20 p.m. The Alabama Department of Public Safety assisted Opp police investigators at the scene.
The crash remains under investigation.