Blaze prevents men nearby from pulling woman out of car
Saturday, March 3, 2007
By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Two people died and two others were injured in a fiery wreck Friday in southern Catawba County.
Shortly before 2:30 p.m., a southbound 1993 BMW sedan ran off Startown Road near the Lincoln County line and veered back into oncoming traffic, said Highway Patrol Trooper B.L. Buchanan. The driver of a northbound Chevrolet Tahoe tried to dodge the BMW, authorities said, but broadsided it.
The two in the BMW - driver Daniel Glenn Blackwood, 29, and passenger Christina Lynn Gore, 31, both of Lincolnton - were killed. The two in the Tahoe - driver Gerardo Antonio Artavia Jr., 29, of Claremont and passenger Kaylan Beckham, 23, of Catawba - were taken to Frye Regional Medical Center in Hickory with minor injuries, said Trooper B.L. Albert.
After the crash, the mangled vehicles skidded across asphalt and into the grass before catching fire.
Brandon Kurczi, who works nearby, and a man who had been driving along Startown Road ran to the burning BMW, Kurczi said.
While they pulled Blackwood from the car, the occupants of the Tahoe - Artavia and Beckham - climbed through the vehicle's shattered windows.
The blaze enveloped the BMW, authorities said, making it impossible for the men to get Gore's body out.
"(We) tried to help," said Randy Schronce, who works with Kurczi and tried to put out the flames. "It's something that will stay with you."
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