BUTLER, AL — October 28, 2026 A head-on collision involving a passenger van and a tractor-trailer left two people injured and claimed the life of another driver Wednesday evening on Alabama 17 in Choctaw County, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA).
Authorities reported that the crash occurred at approximately 7:25 p.m. near mile marker 103, about three miles south of Butler.
Derrick W. Gray Jr., 22, of Gaston, South Carolina, was riding as a passenger in a 2010 Honda Odyssey when it collided head-on with a 2015 Volvo tractor-trailer operated by Anthony T. Jones, 49, of Jackson, Mississippi.
The Honda’s driver, Colby R. Austin, 36, of Toxey, Alabama, sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Gray was injured and transported to Ochsner Rush Medical Center in Meridian, Mississippi, for medical treatment. Jones also suffered injuries and was taken to Choctaw General Hospital in Butler.
Authorities have not disclosed the severity of the injuries sustained by Gray and Jones.
