By By Adam Prestridge
Three Atmore residents were seriously injured early Monday morning in a single-vehicle accident on Hwy. 21 near Escambia County Middle School.
According to officials with the Evergreen Highway Patrol Post, a substation for the Alabama State Trooper's Office, Walteena Leslie, 21, of Atmore; Torris Davis, 39, of Atmore and Nakia McNeil, 39, of Atmore were all rushed to Atmore Community Hospital and later airlifted by two LifeFlight helicopters to surrounding hospitals due to the extent of their injuries.
The accident occurred around 12:35 a.m. Monday morning at the 3.5-mile marker when the 1989 Chevrolet 1500 pickup truck they were traveling in left the roadway. Troopers are still investigating the cause of the accident.
According to rescue personnel, LifeFlight was originally dispatched to land between ECMS and the Southern Pine Electric's facility. After rescue workers had already set up the beacon lights for the chopper's landing zone, paramedics opted to transport the accident victims to Atmore Community Hospital to keep them stabilized after learning LifeFlight's estimated time of arrival would be between 10-12 minutes.
Officials said that the first LifeFlight helicopter touched down on ACH landing pad within a matter of minutes following paramedics' arrival at the hospital's emergency room. The second chopper landed less than 10 minutes following the arrival of emergency crews.
The Alabama State Troopers Office and the Atmore Police Department investigated the accident scene. Atmore Fire &Rescue Department sent one rescue unit and two pumper trucks to the scene of the accident. Kelley's Ambulance and Atmore Ambulance both transported patients to ACH.
No additional information on the accident victims was available as of Tuesday afternoon.