A West Orange-Stark High School reunion ended as a smash hit, but not in a good way. Five cars were damaged outside the VFW Hall late Saturday night by a man in a pickup truck who lost control while driving southbound on Highway 87.
Four of the cars were parked on the side of the highway. The other car was leaving the parking lot and stopped to turn onto the highway. The driver of that car had minor injuries, according to Orange police.
Patrol Officer D.Y. Meyers reported 39-year-old Dennis Lamar Simpson of Burkeville was driving a GMC Sierra pickup southbound on Highway 87 in the outside lane. He failed to control the speed and lost control. He hit two cars parked along the side of the road, then crashed into a car in the parking lot drive stopped to turn right.
The driver of that car was taken by Acadian Ambulance to Baptist Hospital Orange Emergency Room with minor injuries.
Next the pickup hit two more cars parked on the side of the road. The cars hit included a 2015 BMW and a 2015 Dodge Charger.
The reunion was for classes from the 1980s through 1990s.
Officer Meyers reported Simpson was arrested for possession of a controlled substance and felony gun possession. Simpson had minor injuries and was taken by ambulance to Baptist Hospital Orange Emergency Room.
Orange police arrested two men Friday evening with more than a pound of marijuana in their car and $2,000 cash. Patrol Officer S.J. Mulhollan reported he stopped a Toyota SXC for running the stop sign at Park Avenue and Seventh Street at 6:48 p.m. Friday.
The driver of the car, Kendrick Lyndal Hughes of Orange, had arrest warrants issued for the misdemeanor charges of no driver’s license and failure to maintain insurance. When searching the car, Officer Mulhollan saw 12 baggies of marijuana in the cup holder. Also, a gallon-size baggie of marijuana was on the back seat.
Police also found three baby bottles with a syrup residue and a medication bottle. Codeine is often put into baby bottles.
Hughes and the passenger, Michael Marks, were arrested for the state jail felony of possession of marijuana.
An 83-year-old man was injured Sunday afternoon in the Home Depot parking lot when he got pinned between his running pickup truck and a cart rack. A man in the parking lot saw the man’s predicament and drove the truck away to free the man.
Orange police said the accident happened about 4:40 p.m. Sunday. Allen Henry Burkhart, an Orange businessman, had parked his Chevrolet Silverado next to the shopping cart rack. The pickup was facing out toward the drive space. Police said as Burkhart was driving forward, the right front of the truck hit the back of a Ford Mustang parked on the other side of the truck.
Burkhart backed his truck up and opened the passenger door to get out and look. He left the truck in reverse, causing the side of the truck to hit him and hold him next to the cart rack. He was pinned for at least a minute before he was rescued when a man moved the truck.
Burkhart was taken by Acadian Ambulance Service to Baptist Hospital Orange Emergency Room. Police classified his injuries as non-incapacitating.
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