Three injured in head-on crash just north of Corbin Thursday; police say driver error to blame

Rescue workers attempt to free two people from the wreckage of this vehicle involved in a head-on crash Thursday morning on U.S. 25 just north of Corbin. Three people total were injured.

Three people were injured in a head-crash late last Thursday morning on U.S. 25 just north of Corbin, and authorities are saying the accident was simply driver error.

According to Kentucky State Police Trooper John Pratt, 32-year-old Betty Epperson, of Flat Lick, was driving her vehicle south on U.S. 25 near Jerry’s Furniture when she attempted to pass some vehicles and slammed into a gray Pontiac driven by 20-year-old Ladonna Eaton, of McKee.

Witnesses to the accident say Epperson simply misjudged how much time she had to make the pass. The road is a two-lane highway, but passing by going into the oncoming lane of traffic is allowed on that part of the roadway. Epperson’s father, who was at the scene, said his daughter was on her way home from work after a shift at Laurel Cookie Factory in London.

Epperson was taken by ambulance to St. Joseph’s Hospital in London to be treated for her injuries.

Eaton and her passenger, 55-year-old Linda Caudill, of Hudson, Fla., were both airlifted from the scene to the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington to be treated for their injuries.

Pratt said Caudill appeared to be injured fairly seriously.

Neither drug nor alcohol use is suspected as contributing to the crash.

Eaton and Caudill had to be cut free from their vehicle by the Lily Volunteer Fire Department and the Laurel County Rescue Squad. The wreck happened around 11:30 a.m. Thursday.