HOUSTON – A one-vehicle accident July 22 left Kanika Walker shaken and bruised, but injury free and alive after she lost control of her car on CR 408 (Old Highway 8) near Buena Vista.

Walker was on her way to work at the Health Department in Houston when she tried to avoid hitting an armadillo in the road. She lost control of the automobile which entered the on-coming traffic lane and left the road, landing on its roof in the creek.

Walker was able to extricate herself from the vehicle and the accident was heard by a man on a four-wheeler in the area. Walker’s cell phone was not responsive, so the man called 911 and went to her sister-in-law’s home nearby to get help.

Emergency responders from the Houston Volunteer Fire Department and the Chickasaw County Sheriff’s Office arrived on the scene not sure of the extent of injury.

“It could have been a lot worse,” said Chief Deputy Jim Meyers. “She was very lucky.”

Walker was placed on a backboard and into a metal Stokes basket to be removed from the creek.

“With the Stokes basket, we can connect lines to the basket frame and not the patient to pull her up,” said EMR Linda Griffin.

The crew was prepared to use a winch to pull Walker up the steep embankment, but had enough volunteers on the scene to make it unnecessary.

“We had plenty of help to pull her up by hand,” Griffin said.

Walker was taken to North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo by ambulance and was treated and released with no significant injuries.

The armadillo wasn’t as lucky. Although Stokes was trying to avoid hitting the animal, she made a direct hit, killing it on impact.