One killed after vehicle strikes utility pole

By Amelia A. Pridemore
Register-Herald Reporter

July 05, 2009 11:37 pm

— One person was killed and two others were injured after a convertible struck a utility pole Saturday evening, Raleigh County deputies said.
Around 6 p.m. Saturday, Blanche E. Anderson, 18, of Oak Hill, was driving a 1992 Ford Mustang convertible and traveling north on W.Va. 16 in Bradley, Deputy J.L. Redden said. Anderson told deputies she fell from the car. The door had an apparent latch problem, and she was trying to hold it shut.
After Anderson fell from the car, it veered out of control and off the roadway’s right edge, Redden said. Its driver’s side then struck a utility pole.
The front-seat passenger, Jessie J. Anderson, 23, of Oak Hill (no relation to the driver), was trapped in the vehicle, Redden said. He later died at Raleigh General Hospital. The back-seat passenger, Zachary D. Watkins, 18, of Oak Hill, sustained a head injury and broken bones. Both Watkins and Blanche Anderson were taken to Raleigh General Hospital, where their conditions were last known to be under evaluation.
Redden said alcoholic beverages and controlled substances are suspected to be factors in this accident. He declined to further elaborate.
The investigation is ongoing, Redden said. No charges have yet been filed, but he said they are pending.
Redden is the investigating officer, with assistance from Deputy R.L. Bircham Jr. The Mount Hope Police Department, Bradley-Prosperity Fire Department and Mount Hope Fire Department assisted at the scene.
— E-mail: apridemore@register-herald.com