SCOTTOWN — A 24-year-old Proctorville man was killed in an early-morning accident Wednesday in rural Lawrence County.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol reports that just after 6 a.m., Jason S. Black, 24, was traveling northbound on County Road 37 (Scottown/ Lecta Polkadotte Road) when he lost control of his 1995 Chevrolet Cavalier, slid off the left side of the road and flipped into a creek.

He was pronounced dead from his injuries at the scene by the county coroner.

Lt. M.R. Gore said the cause of the accident has not been determined and is still under investigation.

Black’s death was the third accident-related fatality in the county in the past six days.

On Friday morning, Ironton residents Rodney Justice and Fred Wilds were killed in an accident on State Route 93. Gore said the week has been one of the deadliest on county roadways recently.

Although the number of serious accidents increases during the summer months, Gore said many of them occur in the more-heavily traveled roads such as

U.S. 52 and State Route 93.

Rural accidents are usually caused by run-ins with animals, lack of seatbelt use or alcohol consumption, according to Gore, although none of those factors have been determined to be the cause of Black’s death.