Vietnam veteran Everett Cole dies in Friday car crash that also injured a 17-year-old
A 74-year-old Montgomery man died Friday night after he sustained critical injuries in a car crash.
Everett Knight Cole was in the passenger seat while his wife, 72-year-old Alice Law Cole, was driving a new Chevrolet Traverse down East Old Hayneville Road, according to state troopers. Around 5:53 p.m., the Coles' vehicle struck a 1998 Chevrolet truck.
The 17-year-old driver of the truck was not named in the news release from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency due to his age. ALEA said the driver was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash and had to be taken to a nearby hospital for medical care.
Everett Cole was not wearing a seat belt either, and when law enforcement arrived to the location about 12 miles south of Montgomery city limits, they pronounced him dead at the scene.
As a U.S. Marine, Cole served in combat in Vietnam and won a Purple Heart for his service, according to nonprofit Wheelchairs for Warriors. The organization gifted Cole a wheelchair after his left leg was amputated above the knee.
A retelling of Cole's life story lives on the Wheelchairs for Warriors website. It describes how he was drafted at 19 out of Moss Point, Mississippi, and spent four months in Vietnam before a triggered landmine severely injured both of his legs. From there, he was treated at various military hospitals, and then, he was moved to the VA hospital in Montgomery where he met his wife.
“I have lived my life to the fullest the best that I could," he told Wheelchairs for Warriors. "Vietnam stole my youth. I never had a chance to grow up."
Cole earned degrees from Alabama Christian College, now known as Faulkner University, and Huntingdon College before going to work for the VA Regional Office in Montgomery. He worked there helping veterans like himself until his retirement.
According to his obituary, Cole's memorial service will be held at Leak Memorial Chapel in Montgomery, but the date and time is not mentioned. No further information is available about the car crash, as state troopers with the ALEA Highway Patrol Division continue to investigate.
Hadley Hitson covers children's health, education and welfare for the Montgomery Advertiser. She can be reached at hhitson@gannett.com. To support her work, subscribe to the Advertiser.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Veteran, 74, dies in Montgomery County car crash Friday evening
