STAPLETON — A two-vehicle collision claimed the life of one and sent another to the hospital.

Around 10 a.m. Wednesday, emergency personnel from the Stapleton Volunteer Fire Department, the Loxley Police Department Alabama State Troopers were dispatched to the intersection of US Highway 31 and state highway 59 just south of Stapleton for a fatal collision.

According to Sgt. Joe Piggott, commander of the Mobile Trooper post, the preliminary investigation suggests that a northbound 2007 Toyota Tacoma pickup attempted to turn left onto US 31 and was struck broadside by a 2007 Volvo tractor-trailer owned by Gulf Coast Intermodal of Mobile.

The impact of the collision crushed the passenger side of the four-door pickup, which was pushed about 60 yards along the highway before the driver of the Volvo, Thomas D. Christian, 61, of Mobile, was able to bring the big rig to a stop. Christian was not injured in the wreck.

The Toyota was driven by Earl Norman Boyington Jr., 37, of Bay Minette. He was transported to USAMC in Mobile with non-life threatening injuries. A passenger in the pickup, Earl Mune Boyington, 77, of Bay Minette, the father of the driver, was wearing a seatbelt but pronounced dead at the scene.

Alcohol is not believed to have been a factor in the crash and no charges have been filed.

The collision effectively blocked the southbound lanes of Highway 59. Shortly after the wreck, officials began diverting southbound traffic through the parking lot of the Tom Thumb convenience store. It took until around 2 p.m. for a wrecker crew to separate the vehicles. The road was not fully cleared until after 4 p.m.