The Vernon County Sheriff's Department is investigating a weekend car crash which claimed the life of an underage driver. According to a press release, 13 year-old Gatlin Collins of Desoto was eastbound on Anderson Ridge Road just southeast of state Highway 82. The driver lost control and the vehicle slid across the road and struck a tree. The youth, who was wearing a seat belt, was pronounced dead at the scene Saturday afternoon. The accident is Vernon County's first traffic fatality this year.