By By Adam Prestridge
An Atmore man apparently suffered a massive heart attack and drove his truck into a ravine south of the Brushy Creek Bridge in Martinville last Friday.
Sam Grant Jr., the driver of the black 2004 Chevrolet Avalanche, died following the accident. According to a spokesperson with the Alabama State Trooper’s Evergreen Post, the accident occurred at 1:25 p.m. on Hwy. 21 south.
Officers at the scene of the accident said it appeared that Grant swerved off the roadway and down the embankment with the truck resting against a tree. They added that no skid marks were visible.
Passing motorists discovered the vehicle and called 911 for assistance. The original call to dispatchers with the Atmore Police Department was that there had been a “vehicle rollover with possible entrapment.” Dispatchers were also told that the vehicle was on fire.
Grant was pulled from the vehicle by motorists for fear it would catch fire because it began to smoke. Some flames were showing when officers arrived on the scene, according to rescue personnel on the scene. Firefighters were able to extinguish the flames before they could engulf the entire vehicle.
Medics were unable to resuscitate the driver.
Atmore fire and police departments, Poarch fire and police departments, Kelley’s Ambulance Service and the Alabama State Troopers office responded to the scene.