A Columbus man died Friday after being trapped between a car and a tree.
Lowndes County Sheriff’s deputies, District 2 volunteer firefighters and EMTs from Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle responded to the 500 block of Lakeview Drive at around 11:15 a.m. and found Alvin M. Fontenot, 54, trapped.
He was transported to Baptist Memorial Hospital.
“He was resuscitated en route to BMH, but he died shortly thereafter,” said Lowndes County Coroner Greg Merchant. The cause of death was massive chest injuries.
Fontenot and someone else were attempting to stop a 1995 green Acura Integra from rolling into the nearby lake, Merchant said.
Lakeview Drive circles around a lake with trees, and a slope is the only thing separating the road and water. Lakeview Drive is off Military Road.
“(The vehicle) was parked on the incline of a nearby driveway, and they were sitting on the front porch,” Merchant said. “They went to try and stop it, and the victim was on the driver’s side of the vehicle and was trying to steer it away from the lake and became trapped in between the tree and the car.”
The vehicle was not Fontenot’s car, Merchant said. “He had been driving the vehicle, but the car belongs to someone else.”
Fontenot did not live at a residence on Lakeview Drive. Merchant said he lived in East Columbus.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.