2 killed, four children hurt in head-on crash in Lenoir
Two people were killed after a crash in Lenoir on Friday, according to a release from the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.
Around 4 p.m. on Friday, troopers went to the scene of a head-on collision on US 64 near Beecher Anderson Road involving a Chevrolet Astro and an Oldsmobile Silhouette. According to the NCSHP, the Chevrolet was traveling west on US 64, crossed over the center line, and hit the Oldsmobile traveling east.
Deanna Lynn Ross, a 41-year-old Lenoir resident, was driving the Astro and was taken to Caldwell Memorial Hospital by EMS, where she died from her injuries. Troopers say Ross was not wearing a seatbelt during the crash.
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EMS took Reyna Mendoza, 29, from Valdese, who was driving the Oldsmobile to Caldwell Memorial Hospital, where she too died from her injuries.
Four boys, ages one through 13, from the Oldsmobile, were taken to different hospitals around the area with various injuries. Two children remained in the hospital Monday.
The one-year-old had to have surgery for his injuries.
“It’s hard for family because of the kids, of course,” said Virginia Barreno, a family member of Mendoza and the children. “We need to pray for all of the family, for the kids and the husband.”
Some students in Burke County gathered around a flagpole Monday morning to pray for the family.
Former teacher Nancy Hasty taught the boys and has seen the outpouring of love from the community to help the children and their father.
“It was just shocking and unbelievable,” Hasty said. “I sent a note saying, ‘This can’t be our Reyna’ and yes, it was our Reyna.”
There were extra counselors at two of the schools the boy attended.
According to the NCSHP, US 64 was closed for over an hour while troopers investigated the scene.
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