Somerset —
A woman was killed and another person seriously injured Saturday in a mid-morning accident that occurred around two and a half miles north of Somerset.
Emergency responders were called to a two-vehicle accident on Ky. 39 near the Nelson Valley area at 10:48 a.m. Saturday.
Once on the scene, officers with the Somerset Police Department determined that the accident occurred when a southbound 1999 Dodge Durango, driven by Lorinda C. Calhoun, 53, of Somerset, collided head-on with a northbound 2009 Nissan Altima driven by Jonathan A. Johnson, 32, of Evarts, Ky., according to Lt. Shannon Smith, with SPD.
Calhoun’s vehicle was traveling southbound in the northbound lane when it struck Johnson’s vehicle, according to Smith.
Calhoun was pronounced dead on the scene by the Pulaski County Coroner’s Office.
Pulaski County Coroner Chuck Godbey said it appears Calhoun succumbed to injuries resulting from blunt force trauma to the head.
Johnson was treated on the scene by the Somerset-Pulaski County EMS and transported to the Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital.
He was later transferred by ambulance to the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington.
Smith said Johnson suffered from “multiple” injuries sustained in the accident.
A spokesperson with the UK Medical Center said Johnson was listed in serious condition as of Saturday evening.
Calhoun was wearing a seat belt at the accident, but Johnson was not, according to Smith.
Smith said a closed empty alcohol container was found in Calhoun’s vehicle during the investigation into the accident, but he emphasized that alcohol or drug involvement is undetermined until blood test results are finalized.
“There was some alcohol found ... but having alcohol in the vehicle does not say that alcohol was a factor in the accident,” Smith said. “ ... The presence of an alcoholic beverage container, empty or full, isn’t conclusive evidence of the sobriety of a driver or passenger.”
Smith said it will possibly take several weeks for toxicology results to come back.
Ky. 39 was shut down until around 4 p.m. Saturday while the Somerset Police Department Accident Reconstruction Unit investigated the collision.
The Somerset Fire Department, Somerset-Pulaski County EMS, and the Pulaski County Coroner’s Office assisted at the scene.
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