Dec 14, 2016 2 min read

WAYNESBURG – The driver involved in Tuesday’s rollover accident on Interstate 79 in Greene County told state police he was driving faster than 100 miles per hour just before crashing.

James K. Dixon, 30, of Apopka, Fla., was traveling north on the interstate shortly after 1:30 p.m. when he lost control while speeding, prompting his vehicle to go airborne and roll four times before crashing into an exit sign about two miles south of Waynesburg, police said.

Police said Dixon told troopers at the scene he was driving more than 100 mph because he “wanted to push the car to see what it could do.” Snow began falling in the area around the time of the crash, police wrote in court documents.

Waynesburg-Franklin volunteer firefighters were called to free the driver from the wreckage and had to cut the roof off of the vehicle. The car, a brand new Mazda 3 sedan, was destroyed in the crash, police said.

While interviewing Dixon at the scene, police said they found him with a revolver on his waist and later determined that his license to carry a weapon had been suspended. Police charged him with one felony count of carrying a firearm without a license, along with traffic citations for speeding, careless driving and reckless driving.

Dixon was later taken by ambulance to WHS-Greene hospital with a minor injury, police said.

After his release from the hospital, District Judge Lee Watson arraigned Dixon on the firearms charge Tuesday night. Dixon is being held at Greene County jail on $15,000 bond while awaiting his Dec. 27 preliminary hearing before Watson.

Sgt. Steve Dowlin, commander of the state police barracks near Waynesburg, said it’s fortunate Dixon didn’t crash into other cars.

“Obviously, we are thankful that this was not a fatal crash,” state police Sgt. Steve Dowlin said. “Anytime anyone operates a motor vehicle at such a high rate of speed, there is a high potential for the result to be devastating, not only to that person but the motoring public at large.”