Fatal crash has residents speaking out over hazardous bridge

ALDER SPRINGS, Ala. (WAFF) - 18-year-old Connor Parker was killed on Hustleville Road over the weekend after his truck went over a bridge guard rail at Short Creek. Buck Brown with Alder Springs Fire and Rescue says he was on the scene where Parker crashed.

“A young man was thrown out and lost his life. He was just 18 years old. It’s tragic when anyone loses their life but you know, a teenager, it just hits a little harder,” Brown says.

Brown says this is the second crash in just two weeks on the bridge. Longtime resident Danny Baugh says accidents have happened so much over the years that he checks in with family when he hears of an accident.

“I call my loved ones, my sons that live in the area and say ‘hey is everybody okay over that way.’ ‘Have y’all been on the bridge, if not, have you heard about the wreck on the bridge?’ It’s a discussion piece,” Baugh says.

Baugh says he drives over the narrow bridge multiple times a day, each time with extra caution.

“Sometimes I have come to a complete stop if there’s a truck coming the other way. I’ll come to a complete stop in the road which is a bad thing, but you have to do what you’ve got to do to try to not be an accident victim,” says Baugh.

Brown says the steep incline and narrow lanes make the bridge dangerous for drivers. With nearly 4,000 cars crossing it per day, Brown and the surrounding residents want it fixed before another life is lost.

“We’d love to see the road straightened out and a new bridge put in. This bridge from the rail to the water is somewhere around a 115-foot drop and with the traffic count we have, we’re gonna have problems. It’s just imminent,” says Brown.

The bridge is located on a county road. WAFF 48 has reached out to county commissioners regarding the situation.

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