Head-on Crash Blocks Highway 15

A Breathitt County man was transported to the Kentucky River Medical Center on Tuesday, February 24, after a two-vehicle collision blocked a portion of Highway 15.

Police and fire crews from the City of Jackson responded at 1:17 p.m. to the crash at the old Lakeside Drive intersection near the car wash at 137 Highway 15 North.

According to police officials, Kenneth W. Thompson, of Jackson, was attempting to turn left onto Highway 15 from the car wash when he drove his black Toyota Camry LE into the path of a red Toyota Camry LR driven by Mariana Quinonez, who was headed south toward Hazard.

The two Camrys collided head-on in the southbound lane, spinning Thompson’s vehicle around and blocking two lanes of traffic along a busy section of Highway 15.

Fire officials arrived on the scene and pried open the vehicles' hoods to disconnect the batteries and prevent fires.

Thompson was transported to the Kentucky River Medical Center for evaluation and treatment, while Quinonez and her sister, Andrea Quinonez, a passenger in her vehicle, refused treatment.

The vehicles were hauled from the scene, and officials used oil dry to remove leaking automotive fluids from the roadway before reopening the blocked lanes.

Jackson Police Officer Mike Robinson is in charge of the accident investigation.