Funeral home van, truck collide on Hwy. 21 north
Published 2:19 am Monday, May 15, 2006
By By Janet Little Cooper
A delivery truck and a funeral home van collided Tuesday afternoon on North Highway 21, hospitalizing two people with injuries.
Oliver Petty, 19, of Atmore, driver of the funeral home van, and passenger Kelly Gunn, 78, of Bratt, Fla., were traveling north on Highway 21 in a 2001 Chevy Van belonging to Petty-Eastside Funeral Home when the van was struck by another vehicle according to the Alabama State Trooper office.
According to trooper reports, Dana Bunch, 20, of Atmore was driving a 1987 Ford industrial truck when the vehicle pulled into the path of the van after exiting the I65 southbound ramp.
The Petty-Eastside flower van was en route to a cemetery in Uriah at the time of the accident according to owner Joe Mack Petty. The van had left the funeral home before the funeral procession started in order to deliver the flowers to the cemetery and direct the processional into the area.
Oliver Petty, and passenger Kelly Gunn were transported to Atmore Community Hospital by ambulance for injuries they both sustained in the accident.
Oliver was released the following day after being treated for a concussion and abrasions. Gunn remained in the hospital for two nights due to a broken leg. Gunn will undergo surgery on the broken leg in Pensacola Monday according to Petty.