Dale County head football coach Todd Horne killed in wreck

Sign the guest book for Todd Horne

The Wiregrass coaching community and Dale County High School lost one of their own Tuesday night.

Todd Horne, Dale County’s head football coach for the past two years and a longtime assistant at G.W. Long prior to that, died early Tuesday evening from injuries suffered in a two-vehicle wreck earlier in the day in Ozark.

Horne died at 6:42 p.m. at Flowers Hospital in Dothan, according to a hospital spokesperson. He was 38.

Four other Dale County coaches were also involved in the wreck — Chad McKnight, Phillip Locke, Matt Phillips and Drew Danner. McKnight, the boys basketball coach, was transported to Flowers Hospital and was in stable condition in the Intensive Care Unit, according to the Flowers’ spokesperson.

Two coaches received minor injuries and were treated and released from Dale County Medical Center. The fifth did not sustain injuries to require transportation.

Two juveniles from the other vehicle involved in the wreck did not sustain injuries. Both juveniles were from Ariton.

“Our family needs a lot of prayers right now,” Dale County Associate Superintendent Lamar Brooks said. “We are hurting.”

The two-vehicle accident occurred at 1:50 p.m. at the intersection of U.S. Highway 231 and Camilla Avenue, according to Ozark City Chief of Police Tony Spivey.

Spivey said the Dale County coaches were traveling south on 231 in a 2005 GMC Truck driven by Horne. A 1974 Chevrolet C10 pickup driven by a 16-year-old male was traveling west across the median when it hit the truck driven by Horne, Spivey said.

“It appears that the driver of the Chevrolet failed to yield the right of the way and struck Mr. Horne’s vehicle,” Spivey said. “Mr. Horne appeared to have lost control of the vehicle and flipped either two or three times and came to a rest on the north side of 231.”

Spivey said the investigation has been turned over to the traffic homicide division and initial findings will likely be presented to Dale County District Attorney Kirke Adams today.

“No charges have been filed but possible charges are pending,” Spivey said.

Spivey said alcohol did not appear to be part of the accident.

A 1988 graduate of Dale County, Horne took over his alma mater’s football program in 2006 and guided a struggling Warrior program to a 6-14 record. Last year’s team finished 2-8, but was competitive in most every game.

With nine starters returning on both offense and defense, the Warriors are expected to challenge for a playoff spot this year. AHSAA teams can open practice next Monday in preparation for the 2008 season opener.

Dale County is scheduled to open the season Aug. 29 against G.W. Long, pitting the two schools Horne coached.

Prior to coming to the Midland City school, Horne served 13 years at G.W. Long, including 10 as the Rebels’ defensive coordinator. He was also a highly-successful girls basketball coach at Long, directing the Lady Rebels to a 215-68 record in 12 seasons.

“If you had a son or daughter that played, you wanted coach Horne to be the coach,” said an emotional Brooks, who knew Horne for 15 years, including seven years when he was principal at Long. “You knew they would get trained right and they would be coached right.

“More importantly, he was a great person and a great role model. He was an outstanding person.

“There was no better friend than Todd Horne. We will miss him tremendously not only as a coach, but more so as a friend and a great person.”

In regards to McKnight’s condition, Brooks said the outlook was guarded, but optimistic.

“They are watching him and we will know more (today),” Brooks said. “He has fracture of his C1 vertebrae and they are a little worried about that. Hopefully, they will not have to do surgery.

“It appears that he will be okay, but he will have a long road ahead.”

McKnight just completed his first year at Dale County and turned the Warriors around, taking over after a 3-15 season and guiding the Warriors to a 16-12 record, their first winning season this decade. The 16 wins were more than the previous six seasons combined.

Prior to joining Dale County, McKnight built the Geneva County girls basketball program into a Wiregrass force. In eight years, the Lady Bulldogs went 169-58 and six of the eight teams advanced to the Class 2A regional tournament in Troy. He guided the 2000 team to the state Final Four.