A local man died Thursday afternoon from injuries he suffered in a one-vehicle accident on Ala. 22 about two miles inside the city limits.

David “Buddy” Dennis, 75, was fatally injured when his 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer, which was traveling west, flipped one or more times before landing on its top.

The cause of the accident is under investigation, said Alabama State Trooper Dennis Ryans, who was present at the scene.

“We know he flipped at least once,” said Alan Darby, the Dallas County coroner.

A debris field of about 15 yards marked the vehicle’s path where it left the highway.

Dennis was a two-tour veteran of the Vietnam War. He was disabled, said his niece, Beverly Dennis. He worked most of his life as a painter before health problems forced him to stop.

‘He was a good guy all around,” Beverly Dennis said. “He always tried to help a lot of people. Sometimes too much.”

He was the sole guardian of two teenage grandsons. He also had two sons.

“His wife, Bunny, has been dead about five years or so,” she said.

She said her uncle was a native of Dallas County and attended Water Avenue Baptist Church.