By Monte Mitchell
The Winston-Salem Journal
McGRADY, N.C. — One SUV carried four lifelong friends — volunteer firefighters heading home from a night of bowling and a visit to Walmart.
The other SUV carried a young family that had already faced adversity after being burned out of their house a year ago. They were heading home after visiting relatives.
The accident Monday night killed one of those firefighters, Richard “Allen” Matheson, 19, of McGrady. Matheson had recently been promoted to corporal in the McGrady Volunteer Fire Department, according to the N.C. Highway Patrol and fire-department officials.
Matheson was a passenger in a 2003 Chevrolet TrailBlazer.
The driver, Adam Burke, 19, was listed in good condition yesterday at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem. One back-seat passenger, Allen Pruitt, 22, was in serious condition. Zane Faw, 19, who was also in the back seat, was treated at Wake Forest Baptist and released yesterday, fire officials said.
Four members of the Church family of Wilkesboro remained at Wake Forest Baptist yesterday, according to a hospital spokeswoman. Patricia Church, 37, the driver of the 2001 Ford Expedition, was listed in fair condition, as was her husband, James Monroe Church, 43. Their daughter, Ashley Nichole Church, 11, was in good condition, and their son, Dustin Church, 8, was in fair condition.
The children and their father were airlifted to the hospital. Patricia Church was taken by ambulance.
The accident happened at 10:06 p.m. on Mountain Valley Church Road, a curvy, narrow road about 5 1/2 miles north of North Wilkesboro.
Burke was driving east when he went off the right shoulder, overcorrected and slid sideways across the center line, Trooper Jason Gooch said.
The Churches had turned from N.C. 18 and were going west on Mountain Valley Church Road.
The other SUV slid into their lane.
The Churches’ Expedition hit the right front side of Burke’s TrailBlazer. Matheson was in the front passenger seat, closest to the impact.
Burke was driving slower than the posted speed limit of 55 mph, and no alcohol was involved, Gooch said.
“Nine times out of 10, there wouldn’t have been another car coming,” Gooch said.
No charges have been filed, and troopers are continuing their investigation.
Matheson was the son of Mike Lane, the chief of the McGrady Volunteer Fire Department and a well-known member of the Wilkes emergency-responder community.
Matheson was following in his father’s footsteps, joining the department as soon as he was eligible and studying to become a paramedic.
“He was the finest young man you’d ever want to meet,” said Tom Schardt, the president of the department’s board. “He was one of our most frequent responders to the calls.”
The four friends had all either attended or graduated from North Wilkes High School. Matheson graduated in 2009, and was going to Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory in order to become a paramedic.
The Church family’s house burned a year ago, and the community rallied to help them, said Susan Blackburn, the principal at Mount Pleasant Elementary School. Ashley is a rising fifth-grader, and Dustin was getting ready to enter the second grade there.
The family lost everything in the fire, Blackburn said. They had since gotten back into their home.
“They’re both very sweet kids,” Blackburn said. “The parents are both involved in the school.”
Copyright 2010 Winston-Salem Journal
All Rights Reserved