A side-by-side accident near Red Bluff Monday afternoon claimed the life of 65-year-old Randy Guillory of Tennessee and Michael Dyess of Bassfield remained in critical condition as of Tuesday evening.
Morgantown Volunteer Fire Department Chief Krae Morgan, a Marion County constable, said Guillory and Dyess were riding in the side-by-side on private property off of Mississippi 587 when the vehicle went off the edge of an embankment, falling close to 200 feet before reaching the bottom. Morgan said that although it remains unclear exactly what led to the accident, it appears the side-by-side was backing up in preparation to turn around when it went over the edge.
Morgantown VFD received the call at 4:09 p.m. that there was an accident involving two males, but emergency personnel was unaware of the type of accident it was until they arrived on scene, according to Morgan. He said their initial belief was that it was an excavator accident, but once first responders arrived they found out that it was a side-by-side that happened to be near an excavator.
Morgan said that Guillory was ejected from the side-by-side as it fell down the embankment, while Dyess was still in the recreational vehicle when first responders arrived.
Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputies went down to the crash site to assess the situation, along with Morgantown first responders. Morgantown VFD then used its Stokes basket to get Dyess out and provide medical care.
“It was a good effort from everybody,” Morgan said. “You can train for anything and everything, but no scene is going to be alike. We have had rope rescues of people that have fall off the bluff and we have had rescues using the Stokes basket, but involving a side-by-side and in the terrain we were in, we’ve never had any call like that.”
In addition to Morgantown VFD and the sheriff's office, the Tri-Community Volunteer Fire Department, AAA Ambulance, Southwest Volunteer Fire Department, Marion County Emergency Management, Mississippi Game and Fish and more assisted on the call.
Morgan encouraged anyone visiting the Red Bluff area to be extra careful.
“Give yourself plenty of room when you’re around a steep incline or a steep drop-off,” he said. “Make sure you check your surrounding as you’re backing up or pulling forward or whatever it is. It’s best to do a walk-around and check before you go in an aera that’s kind of questionable.”
