By Roger Lanse

On Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021, at about 4:37 p.m., Silver City Police Department officers were dispatched to Dollar General where a single vehicle rollover had been reported and stating the vehicle was on its roof. When officers arrived, according to an SCPD accident report, they found the vehicle, a silver 2001 Ford Taurus, on its roof having rolled off a seven-foot brick wall. The 55-year-old female driver was still in her seatbelt hanging upside-down. When asked how this happened the driver stated that she couldn't really talk as the seatbelt was placing pressure on her. A female passenger of the vehicle was observed to be out of the vehicle and had a severe injury to her left hand which was actively bleeding.

While EMS was attending to the passenger, the report said, the Silver City Fire Department arrived and extracted the driver from the vehicle.

In a follow-up investigation at the hospital, the driver stated they had just left Dollar General when the passenger stated she had forgotten some items in the store. The driver turned around to re-enter the parking lot and the next thing she knew she went off the road and they were upside down. A second vehicle, a silver 2009 Kia van, in the Tranquil Skies parking lot had minor damage to its rear bumper after being struck by the Ford Taurus.

The driver was transported to GRMC, while the passenger was also transported to GRMC and immediately flown out by Native Air helicopter, the report stated. The Ford Taurus was towed.