Collision with armored truck kills Alabama man, state troopers say

Published 10:44 pm Thursday, June 29, 2023

An Alabama man was killed Thursday when the small car in which he was riding ran into an armored truck, state troopers said.

The two-vehicle crash occurred at approximately 12:50 p.m. Thursday, and claimed the life of a Union Grove man.

Shannon C. Gatlin, 57, was fatally injured when the 2020 Ford Escape that he was a passenger in collided head-on with the 2019 International 1300 armored vehicle driven by Scott Melvin, 53, of Helena.

Gatlin and Melvin were both transported to Ascension St. Vincent’s Blount Hospital for treatment, where Gatlin later succumbed to his injuries.

The driver of the Ford, Connie P. Barksdale, 72, of Altoona, and the Ford’s passenger, Johnny B. Barksdale, 74, of Ashville, were both injured and transported to the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital (UAB) for treatment.

The crash occurred on Alabama 75 near the 38 mile marker, approximately one mile south of Susan Moore, in Blount County.