Car flips over embankment on Ky. 26, driver later dies from crash injuries

Timothy Poe, a resident of the Faber community of Whitley County, said he could hear the loud roar of a car engine whiz by his home Tuesday afternoon. Then, suddenly, there was silence.
“Everything came to a stop … then you could hear a crash and a bunch of commotion going on,” he said.
Poe rushed outside and found Robert Branham pinned beneath his Chevrolet Cavalier. It had just taken a tumble over a steep embankment on U.S. 26, crashed through a barbed wire fence, and came to rest in a pasture, flipped on its top.
Rescue personnel from Whitley County EMS and the Woodbine Volunteer Fire Department worked frantically to remove Branham from the wreckage. About 20 minutes after their arrival, and with the help of the Jaws of Life, Branham was freed and taken to Baptist Regional Medical Center for treatment.
Poe said he called 911, and then ran to the car to help Branham.
“The gear shift in the car was jammed up in his spine,” Poe said. “I undone it to help him. He just kept crying ‘Help! Please help!'”
Whitley County Sheriff’s Deputy Todd Shelly is investigating the accident and said he does not yet know the cause.
“It looks like he was traveling south on U.S. 26,” Shelly said. “The car was on top of his arm when I got here. I don’t really know what happened or how bad his injuries are. All he could say was ‘help.'”
Poe said he thinks speed could have been a factor.
“He was coming down through here pretty fast.”
Authorities had not released Branham’s age and residence as of press time.