Two people are dead after a crash near the Iredell County line on Friday night.
The crash involved a pickup truck and a sedan and occurred at approximately 11:15 p.m. on Amity Hill Road near the Pop Beaver Trail intersection.
West Rowan Volunteer Fire Department Captain Cody Caldwell said on scene that Cleveland Police officers arrived on scene first and found two people dead in one of the vehicles. That was confirmed when Cleveland Community Fire Department and Shepherds Fire-Rescue officials arrived shortly after. The driver of the other vehicle was treated by EMS on scene.
A North Carolina State Highway Patrol trooper investigating the crash said that they believed alcohol was a factor in the crash. The driver of the truck was arrested and will likely be charged with driving while impaired the trooper said.
The identities of the people involved were not available on scene.
Ashley Weaver lives near the area the crash occurred in and described the stretch of Amity Hill Road as dangerous. The crash occurred in a bend in the road, which Weaver said often leads to people speeding around the curve and losing control.
“It happens quite often and its disgusting,” she said.
Weaver also described wrecks that had occurred in recent years, including one where a driver lost control and crashed into her neighbor’s vehicle while they were sitting in their driveway. Another wreck ended up with a car rolling over in a field on the side of the road.
The crashes occurred so frequently that the Weavers had stopped replacing their mailbox at the end of the driveway and put it closer to the house, she said.
Weaver said that some of her neighbors had young children that she worried about being exposed to crashes like the one on Friday night.
With the frequent wrecks occurring in a very rural area, where it can take firefighters 15 to 20 minutes to respond to emergencies, the community has asked for signs put up in the area advising drivers of the dangerous curve and other safety systems to be put in place. One neighbor had successfully petitioned the state for a sign on the Iredell County side, but they have not been able to get one on the Rowan County side, she said.
