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Head-on collision on Highway 56
Smithville-Hwy-3
It took about 20 minutes for rescue workers to extricate Robert M. Hodges, 66, from this Mercury Grand Marquis.
Two drivers were critically injured Monday afternoon in a head-on crash on Highway 56 North in Dibrell.Both Robert M. Hodges, 66, of McMinnville and Jerry H. Goff, 36, of Smithville, were airlifted from the scene by medical helicopters and flown to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville where they remain under treatment.According to State Trooper Rodney Whiles, the wreck happened around 2:30 p.m. Monday on a straight stretch of Highway 56 (Smithville Highway) in Dibrell. Preliminary indications show Hodges was driving a 2001 Mercury Grand Marquis and heading north (away from McMinnville) when he crossed the center line of the two-lane highway without warning.Goff, who was traveling southbound (toward McMinnville), was unable to take evasive ac-tion in his 2004 Dodge Dakota pickup and was struck head-on. The impact crushed both driver compartments as the vehicles came to rest in the middle of the highway only a few feet from one another.