London man severely injured in crash on KY 92 east

A London man was severely injured Saturday after he lost control of his vehicle on a treacherous Whitley County roadway and plunged 40 feet over an embankment into the woods.

According to Whitley County Sheriff’s Deputy Alan Onkst, 70-year-old James S. Barrett, wrecked his Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck in the second “S” curve on KY 92 East, about four miles west of Williamsburg.

Barrett was traveling west on the roadway when he lost control entering the curve and toppled over the embankment.

“That’s just a really bad curve and it can slip up on you pretty quick,” Onkst said. “It’s almost a 45 degree turn. Lots of times, when it is foggy or there is moisture in the air, it become slick. It is a frequent site of numerous wrecks.”
Authorities say Barrett’s vehicle flipped and came to rest in a wooded area about 40 feet over the embankment. He was partially ejected from the truck and pinned under the vehicle.

Williamsburg Fire Department Chief James Privett, whose department responded to the accident along with members of the Patterson Creek Volunteer Fire Department, said Barrett was trapped under the hood area of the vehicle.
Firefighters used air bags to lift the truck off of Barrett, a process that took about 15 minutes. Officials say rescue workers were hampered by the difficult terrain and had to rappel into the area and lift Barrett out in a “stokes basket.”
“I would say it took 30 to 45 minutes after we arrived to get him out of there,” Onkst said.

Barrett’s vehicle was totally destroyed. He was taken by Whitley County EMS to Jellico Community Hospital for treatment. Onkst said the man had numerous injuries but was conscious when first responders arrived.

“Somebody must have seen him go over the embankment because the vehicle was hidden,” Onkst said. “He could have stayed there a long time because there were no visible signs that he had gone over. The only place where the vehicle could have slipped down through there, that’s where it went.”

Onkst said police initially asked for a helicopter to fly Barrett out from the scene, but scratched the idea because there was no place for it to land.

“He was just very, very lucky,” Privett said.

Whitley County Sheriff’s Deputy Brian Lawson and Constable Jim Thorton also assisted at the scene.