On April 22, 2015 at about 7:30 a.m. a crash was reported near 12000 Elk River Road North. A box truck being driven south on Route 4 dropped onto the shoulder of the road, then slid into a rocky bank next to the shoulder. No other vehicles were involved in the crash, and no other property damage was noted.
The driver, Linda McKinney of Maysel, WV, suffered minor injuries and was later transported by medics with the Kanawha County Emergency Ambulance Authority to an area hospital for evaluation and possible treatment.
Ms. McKinney is a volunteer with an animal rescue group in Clay County, WV. She was transporting dogs to Help for Animals in Barboursville, a spay and neuter clinic. Thirty-seven caged animals were in the back of the box truck when the crash occurred.
Initially assistance was sought from the Kanawha-Charleston Humane Association. Humane Officers were sent to assist, but volunteers from the Clay County rescue group also came to the scene. The volunteers gathered the animals and transported them to the spay-neuter clinic on their own.
All the animals seemed to be in healthy condition following the crash.