UPDATE: Alcohol, no seat belt considered factors in crash that killed W’burg man

UPDATE: According to a spokesperson for the Bell County Sheriff’s Department, alcohol is suspected as a contributing factor in this traffic crash. Toxicology results are pending. Police added that Partin was not wearing a seat belt.

A single vehicle crash early Sunday morning in Bell County claimed the life of a Williamsburg man.

About 12:12 a.m., Bell County 911 received a call about an accident with injuries on KY 190 near the eight-mile marker in the Frakes community.

When Bell County Sheriff’s deputies arrived, they observed a green 1995 GMC pickup truck on the opposite side of the roadway that had struck an embankment, according to a sheriff’s department release.

The vehicle appeared to have crossed into the oncoming lane and struck an embankment causing the truck to flip.

The driver, Ernie Partin, 46, of Williamsburg, appeared to have been thrown from the vehicle and came to rest at the front of the hood, according to the release.

Bell County Deputy Coroner Jason Steele pronounced Partin dead at the scene.

Bell County EMS transported Partin’s passenger, Joseph Ledford, to Pineville Community Hospital. PHI helicopter then flew Ledford to the University of Tennessee Medical Center.

Deputy Michael Bradley is continuing the investigation and was assisted at the scene by Deputies Jared Smith and Joel Quillen and members of the Bell County Rescue Squad.