FRIDAY MORNING ACCIDENT CLAIMS LIFE A woman was pronounced dead this morning at Merit Health Medical Center after being extricated from her automobile following a collision with a large truck at approximately 11:10 according to Batesville Assistant Police Chief Jimmy McCloud. The deputy chief said the woman’s car was pulling onto Highway 6 from Medical Center Drive east of Batesville when the collision occurred. McCloud said he thought the driver of the truck was not seriously injured. Those witnessing the aftermath of the collision said the truck carried the car quite a way before it would finally come to a stop in front of Marathon Convenience Store. The east-bound truck hit on the driver’s side of the vehicle trapping the driver inside according to witnesses who said medical responders were giving IV fluids to the victim through an opening while Batesville firemen were preparing to cut away the mangled metal to extract her from the car. McCloud said the local air ambulance service was already involved with a call and another helicopter was called from Oxford. “They could not get her stable enough to fly,” McCloud explained, after the neighboring helicopter arrived, so she was taken by ground ambulance to nearby Merit Health Medical Center where she was later pronounced dead. Heavy Friday traffic was stacked for longer than usual as local employees headed to two nearby banks to cash payroll checks during their lunch hour as well as an abundance of curious rubber-neckers who instinctively flock to the scene of unfortunate accidents. “My hat’s off to those firemen. They worked hard today,” McCloud said.