Truck loses boat at busy NN intersection: No one was injured when the boat hit three cars stopped at Jefferson Avenue and Oyster Point Road.

From:

Daily Press (Newport News, VA)

Date:

November 28, 2006

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Byline: Jennifer Latson

Nov. 28--NEWPORT NEWS -- A boat came loose from a trailer and collided with three cars at a busy Newport News intersection late Monday night. No one was injured.

A pickup truck pulling a white 19-foot motorboat was crossing Jefferson Avenue on Oyster Point Road, heading west, when the trailer came unhinged and sent the boat sailing into a line of facing cars waiting to turn left onto Jefferson.

The accident happened just before 9 p.m. and snarled traffic at the crossing of Newport News' most dangerous intersection.

The boat hit the side of an unmarked Virginia State Police car, then bounced on top of Tom Sobkowicz's car, shattering the rear windshield and showering glass into the back seat, where Sobkowicz's 5-year-old son was sleeping.

"It just popped off and came toward us," said Sobkowicz, who lives in Newport News. His son was unharmed.

Selena Stellute Glenn, 29, of Williamsburg, was waiting at the light to turn toward her home when she saw the boat bouncing toward her. It came to rest on the hood of her Ford Expedition, its bow just inches from the windshield.

"It was like slow motion," Glenn said. "It was unbelievable."

Virginia State Police were investigating the crash because a state police car was involved.

A state trooper declined to comment on the accident.

Witnesses said the driver pulling the boat was not speeding or driving erratically. He had just bought the new boat and was bringing it home, he said.

Copyright (c) 2006, Daily Press, Newport News, Va.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business

Beaufort crash kills one.. Loose Trailer

Beaufort crash kills one.

From:

Daily News (Jacksonville, NC)

Date:

June 9, 2006

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loose trailer

Byline: Jannette Pippin

Jun. 9--BEAUFORT -- A Carteret County woman was killed and two of her family members injured Thursday after a utility trailer carrying lumber came loose and struck their vehicle. Lilly Lawrence Nelson, 70, of the Gloucester community, died at the scene of the fatal collision that occurred on U.S. 70 near East Carteret High School in Beaufort, said Trooper Marvin Shadday of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.

Nelson was the front passenger in a car driven by her daughter, Lori Lawrence Merkley, 35, also of Gloucester. Her granddaughter, 13-year-old Raina Merkley, was a passenger in the right back seat.

Lori Merkley was transported to Carteret General Hospital in Morehead City for treatment of injuries, and Raina Merkley was flown by East Care to Pitt County Memorial in Greenville, where she was in stable condition, Shadday said.

The family was traveling in a 2005 Suzuki west on U.S. 70 when a utility trailer being towed by a pick-up truck traveling in the opposite direction separated from the truck and crossed the center line of the highway, Shadday said.

The utility trailer, which was carrying a load of lumber, struck the car head on. The lumber was thrown onto the car and several pieces went through the windshield, Shadday said. The worst of the impact was on the passenger side of the vehicle where Nelson was sitting, he said. Also injured in the collision was Alene Price Gillikin, 64, of Marshallberg. Gillikin was traveling behind Merkley in a 1997 station wagon and struck the rear end of the car. She was transported to Carteret General Hospital, the Highway Patrol said. The pickup truck, driven by Jordan Erik Swicegood, 26, of Beaufort, was not hit. The investigation of the collision and how the trailer became separated is ongoing and no charges had been filed Thursday, Shadday said. Contact staff writer Jannette Pippin at jpippin@freedomenc.com or by calling (252) 808-2275.

Copyright (c) 2006, The Daily News, Jacksonville, N.C.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business

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