Dangerous curve blamed for Hwy. 69 accidents

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Motor vehicle accidents, many of them deadly, have been all too common on a stretch of Highway 69 with a dangerous curve, a story from TuscaloosaNews.com reports.

One woman in the story recounts a deadly accident in October, during which her husband and father inflicted serious injuries from which they are still recovering.

The section of Highway 69, containing a memorial marker honoring life lost, is located between mile markers 155 and 156, roughly 8 miles north of the Highway 82 intersection. Another site of many car wrecks on Highway 69 is a bit further north, between mile markers 158 and 159.

Investigations into the fatal wrecks on that stretch indicate that the drivers in the northbound lanes drove off the shoulder, overcorrected and swung into the southbound lane. Summers said that people who veer off should not abruptly turn the wheel to get back on the road.

"You should just slow down, and not put too much steering into it," he said. " A lot of people are not taught off-road recovery in driver's ed."

Alabama Department of Transportation figures indicate that about 7,000 vehicles travel past the 154-mile marker each day. Only 3,500 vehicles travel past the 157 marker just three miles north.