Investigators identify Columbus man killed in fiery head-on collision in Alabama

State investigators in Alabama have identified the driver killed in a fiery head-on collision that shut down a highway last week as a Columbus man.

Charles E. Reynolds, 63, died after the 2002 Chevrolet Silverado he was driving crossed into oncoming traffic on Alabama Highway 80 and and crashed into a 2007 Kenworth tractor-trailer, said the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Highway Patrol Division.

Both vehicles ran off the road, where the semi burst into flames, authorities said.

Reynolds was pronounced dead at the scene. The tractor-trailer driver, a 41-year-old Crossett, Arkansas, man, had injuries injuries for which he was treated at an area hospital. The highway closed until investigators were done documenting the accident, which happened around 6 a.m. Friday in Lee County, about 10 miles west of Ladonia, troopers said.

Tim Chitwood

Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

706-571-8508

Tim Chitwood is from Seale, Alabama, and started as a police beat reporter with the Ledger-Enquirer in 1982. He since has covered Columbus’ serial killings and other homicides, following some from the scene of the crime to trial verdicts and ensuing appeals. He also has been a Ledger-Enquirer humor columnist since 1987. He’s a graduate of Auburn University, and started out working for the weekly Phenix Citizen in Phenix City, Ala.