Skip to main content

Driver says he fell asleep prior to car overturning on Route 77, Alabama

By Howard B. Owens

A driver involved in a rollover accident on Route 77, Alabama, on Friday said he fell asleep at the wheel.

Matthew R. Killburn, 22, of 1379 Bray Road, Arcade, was not seriously injured in the crash and did not require ambulance transport.

According to Deputy Tim Wescott's report, Killburn was northbound on Route 77 near Ledge Road at 6:15 p.m. when he fell asleep and his car traveled off the east shoulder and overturned.

No other vehicles were involved in the accident.

Killburn was driving a 2005 Chevy sedan.

No citations were issued.

Michelle WIlliams

I would hope not Michael. I lost two very good friends of mine when I was in middle school because one of them had sleep apnea and fell asleep behind the wheel

Jun 24, 2012, 10:02am Permalink
Michelle WIlliams

matt, sleep apnea can cause congestive heart failure due to lack of blood flow. many people do not know the severe side effects that can be associated with s.a. my friend had narcolepsy and when the accident happened that is exactly what we all blamed. the autopsy however showed he died of congestive heart failure due to insufficient blood flow. sadly he had never been diagnosed with the sleep apnea so the accident was not preventable.

Jun 24, 2012, 11:34am Permalink
Michael Bishop

Narcolepsy is primarily associated with Cataplexy. Cataplexy causes loss of muscle control typically when exposed to a strong emotion (fear, etc...) There's a few other ones, but Cataplexy is a sole symptom of Narcolepsy.
Narcoleptic drivers don't usually fall asleep at the wheel... They technically do fall asleep, but continue to drive as a normal person would. Just perhaps not to where you were headed. You would drive as normal, blinkers, brake normally, but have no memory of it. You may also drive somewhere totally not where you were headed. Say you get in your car on hop on the the 90 from Buffalo, and you're going to go to Tractor Supply in Batavia. Instead, you may find yourself sitting in the Alabama meat market (IGA) on 77 with no memory of how you got there. Same thing goes for the day time... You'll continue to function, talk to people, but later realize you don't know what you were just doing for the past hour.

Sleep Apnea will cause someone to have a "sleep attack" in which they just suddenly fall asleep. Very possible with Narcolepsy as well. Confirmed Narcoleptic drivers can have their license suspended or restricted by NYS. If a Sleep center has a positive case of Narcolepsy, they're required to report it to NYS. If this was related to a Narcolepsy, he most likely will have his license suspended for a minimum of a year.

It could be either, or he was just not sleeping very much. But considering the time of day it happened, that's why I first thought sleep apnea.
Sleep Apnea is rather common, Narcolepsy not so much.

How do I know so much about Narcolepsy? Well... It's not that hard if you think about it for a minute.

Jun 24, 2012, 2:49pm Permalink
matt riggi

Michael- ok, I see where you're going with that. Sleep apnea can certainly cause a person to suddenly fall asleep, however, suddenly falling asleep isnt what sleep apnea is. I just misinterpreted your statement. On another note, there are millions of people living with the disease that dont even know it. It's much more harmful than people realize and i thinkj everyone who knows they snore a lot, or show even just afew symptoms should get checked out. very dangerous condition.

Jun 24, 2012, 7:07pm Permalink
Michael Bishop

Matt, you're absolutely correct. Here's a good quote to sum up what you said about untreated folks...

"The untreated Sleep Apnea sufferer died quietly in his sleep.. Unlike his three passengers who died screaming."

Jun 25, 2012, 4:11pm Permalink

Authentically Local