Couple In Critical Condition After Statesville Crash

A man and woman are in critical condition from the personal injuries they suffered in a three-vehicle accident on Interstate 77 near East Broad Street in Statesville on the night of September 14.

According to Trooper S.C. Smithey of the North Carolina Highway Patrol, the male driver of the vehicle the two were traveling in was taken to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem and the female passenger was taken to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte.

Smithey said he could not release the identities of the couple until next-of-kin had been notified. He said the woman was carrying no identification, but the man’s identification, located inside the vehicle, indicated he is a Surry County resident.

The accident took place shortly before 9 p.m. Smithey said the couple’s vehicle sideswiped a red Ford, driven by West Jefferson resident Jason Daniel Holdaway. The vehicle then spun out of control and collided with the rear of a tractor-trailer, driven by Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania resident Ronald Pellegrino.

Smithey said the injured woman appeared to be pregnant, but was not. He said it was likely she had recently given birth.

The accident resulted in the northbound lanes of I-77 being shut down for nearly an hour.