A 61-year-old Athens man was killed Friday night when his car collided with another vehicle in the rain, rolled off an embankment and into a ditch west of Athens, officials said.

Gerald Melton Hayhurst – who had not been identified until Saturday evening pending notification of relatives – was heading home when the accident occurred, officials said.

Hayhurst was heading south on Elk River Estates Road about 7:35 p.m., when he collided head-on with a vehicle driven by Crystal Gunter, 30, of Athens. His car rolled backward off a 10- to 20-foot embankment and into a ditch, said Limestone County Coroner Mike West.

Hayhurst was found dead at the scene of a blunt-force trauma to the chest, said West. He was not wearing a seat belt, the trooper spokesman said.

Gunter’s vehicle was still on the road when emergency personnel arrived. She had left the scene to summon help and returned after emergency personnel had arrived.

“Her injuries were not life threatening,” West said.

She was not wearing a seat belt, the trooper spokesman said.

Rain may have been a factor in the fatal crash.

“It may – or may not – have been a factor, but it was pouring down rain,” said West.

“The road there is curvy and really narrow.”