By MONROE ROARK
mroark@thecitizennews.com

A Fayetteville man Thursday morning became the first traffic fatality in unincorporated Fayette County in the year 2000.

According to the Fayette County Sheriff's Department, 69-year-old Robert Donald Fountain was driving his 1997 Ford Ranger pickup southbound on Redwine Road when he left the roadway south of Ebenezer Church Road. The truck continued south along the shoulder, crossed Redwine Road, and struck a tree off the roadway on the other side.

The investigation has revealed that Fountain, the sole occupant of the vehicle, was not wearing his seatbelt, reports indicated. He died at the scene.

As is standard procedure in fatal injury crashes, a blood sample was taken to the state crime lab for analysis, but it is not known at this time if alcohol or drugs were involved in the crash, according to the Sheriff's Department.