Photo provided by Tom Mitchell The Dodge RAM truck crashed head-first into the North Moundsville penitentiary wall. The driver was killed in the accident.

MOUNDSVILLE — A 42-year-old man was pronounced dead after a head-on collision with the north wall of the West Virginia Penitentiary a “little after 8 a.m.” Tuesday, according to Moundsville Police Chief Tom Mitchell.

Mitchell said the Dodge RAM pick-up truck was traveling on Ninth Street toward the penitentiary wall at an “excessive rate of speed” before the crash.

“It (the crash) completely destroyed the truck,” Mitchell said. “It’s a great big, heavy truck, and to do that type of damage, he was traveling at a high rate of speed.”

The Moundsville Police Department has not released the identity of the crash victim. Mitchell said the man was a former Marshall County resident who resided in Florida.

The man was extricated from the vehicle by first responders. He was pronounced dead by ambulance crews following the crash, and the Marshall County coroner was notified.

Moundsville Police Department officers are investigating whether the driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash.

The penitentiary wall sustained damage on the outside and inside from the crash. The outside of the wall was dented inwards, while the collision knocked off pieces of the wall’s interior.

Sections of Ninth Street and Washington Avenue leading up to the intersection where the crash occurred were blocked off following the crash. According to Mitchell, as of 3 p.m. Tuesday, the area was still blocked off for cleanup crews to remove “fuel and fluids” that leaked from the truck after the crash.

A tarp was also laid at the crash site to clean up vehicle debris.

“There was all kinds of stuff in the vehicle” at the time of the crash, Mitchell said. “A bunch of stuff flew everywhere from the vehicle.”

The totaled vehicle was towed from the scene by Bill’s Towing & Recovery.

West Virginia State Police were called to the crash scene in addition to Moundsville Police Department officers.