Doran Reynolds and Braden Stamps
36 minutes ago
HIGH POINT, N.C. (WGHP) — A woman has been charged in connection with a fiery crash that left a man with life-threatening injuries Friday, according to a news release from the North Carolina Highway Patrol.
Officers charged Mary Vanhoy Barker, 52, of Thomasville, with endangering driving and exceeding the speed limit.
Video from Business 85 showed the tractor-trailer flipped over on its side on the side of the road under the bridge and spewing flames, with traffic being detoured.
According to the National Guard, around 11:25 a.m. Thursday, a tractor-trailer driven by a 61-year-old High Point man and a Lexus driven by Barker were traveling south on Interstate 85 Business/U.S. 29/U.S. 70 when the Lexus merged into the right lane and struck the tractor-trailer.
The tractor-trailer went off the road, struck a pier on the Old Thomasville Road overpass, overturned and burst into flames.
The driver of the tractor-trailer suffered life-threatening injuries and was transported by helicopter to hospital.
The driver of the Lexus was not injured.
North Carolina Department of Transportation officials announced Friday that the bridge had reopened to traffic early Friday afternoon after being deemed structurally safe by inspectors in Raleigh.
The bridge does not need any repairs, and workers will return at a later date to wash away soot from the fire.
