Elizabeth man dies in I-77 crash

By Roger Adkins
MINERAL WELLS — A Wirt County man was killed Wednesday after a single-vehicle crash on Interstate 77.

Larry M. Dowler, 56, of Elizabeth was killed in the 5:40 p.m. crash near mile post 171 in the northbound lanes of I-77 at Mineral Wells, said Deputy Mike Deem of the Wood County Sheriff’s Department.

Dowler was driving a 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee north on I-77 when the vehicle went off the right side of the road, Deem said.

“He got back on the road, but overcorrected his steering and lost control,” Deem said.

The vehicle went back off the road, struck an embankment and rolled three times, Deem said. Dowler was taken to Camden-Clark Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead in the emergency room at 6:53 p.m., said Wood County Coroner Mike St. Clair.

Officials called for the Jaws-of-Life to remove Dowler from the vehicle.

The northbound lanes of the interstate were shut down for about one hour while emergency officials investigated the crash and cleaned up the scene. The Parkersburg Fire Department and the Mineral Wells Volunteer Fire Department responded to the scene.