There were visible signs of disbelief everywhere you looked in Rogersville on Friday morning as news began spreading about the fatal automobile crash involving 21-year-old Caleb Sanderson.

That atmosphere was particularly obvious at Lauderdale County High School where Sanderson played golf and was highly respected by his fellow classmates.

Brant Llewellyn said the news of his former student's death was shocking.

"We heard about the accident this morning and it was a real shock," said Llewellyn, a teacher and coach at Lauderdale County High School.

State troopers said Sanderson, 836 Rose St., Rogersville, died late Thursday night from injuries he sustained in a one-car accident.
Llewellyn, who coaches golf and girls basketball, said Sanderson played two years for him on the high school golf team.

"It's really said," Llewellyn said. "He was a good kid and well liked. It's going to be hard on a lot of people." Troopers said the crash happened just before midnight on Lauderdale 55, just north of Rogersville. Sanderson was pronounced dead at the scene by Lauderdale County Deputy Coroner Butch Tucker.

Reports indicate Sanderson was driving a 2005 Ford Mustang and was traveling north on Lauderdale 55 toward the Whitehead community. He was the only person in the vehicle, troopers said.

Emergency personnel at the scene said the car left the roadway, went over a culvert and slammed into a tree.

Rogersville Mayor Richard Herston said he heard an ambulance going through town Thursday night but had no idea what was going on.

"I taught Caleb in school," said Herston, a retired teacher and coach at the high school. "This is a real shock for everyone. It's not the kind of news you want to wake up to. It's always sad when something like this happens to a young person who has the rest of their lives to look forward to.

"Caleb was a good student and a good kid. He comes from a good family and I know this is tough on them and all his friends."

The fatality is the 10th in the northwest Alabama region and the southern Tennessee counties of Wayne and Lawrence this year. It's the fourth this month in the area.

Of those 10 fatalities, seven involved people under age 40.

Troopers are investigating the crash.