Fiery crash at 'dangerous' Johnston County intersection

CLAYTON, N.C.

Four people, including two children, were hurt in the crash between a car and pickup truck on Pony Farm Road at Little Creek Church Road in Clayton around 6 p.m.

The pickup caught fire after the crash and the driver barely escaped the flames. Samantha Finnegan was at home just down the road from the crash.

"As soon as I got there, you could see the smoke billowing in the air," she recalled.

Finnegan says her fiancé was coming home from work and was at a stop sign when he saw a car coming from what he thought was far away.

"He went to pull out, and that's when he said 'There was nothing I could do. The only thing I saw was the airbag coming out at me,'" said Finnegan.

"All he could see was flames, and so he jumped out of the car and tried to help and realized there was a baby in the other car and was trying to help get them out," said Finnegan.

Three people in the car - including a toddler - were able to get out of the car before emergency crews arrived. They were taken to the hospital. The North Carolina Highway Patrol is still investigating.

But Finnegan says the intersection where the accident happened is not safe.

"I've sat on the front porch and heard car accidents happen," she said.

She says after three years living nearby, the accidents at the intersection have piled up - mostly because of what she says is the limited visibility in both directions on Little Creek Church Road.

"You go to go run some errands one day and the road is fine. You come back and there's all these skid marks. I've had trouble getting home sometimes because of accidents," said Finnegan.

She told ABC11 she's hoping for a three-way stop - or signs letting drivers know about the curves and visibility. But until that happens - she says her fiancé is still struggling with the reality of the crash.

"He's been second guessing himself all night long, all this morning and he's really upset about it and our biggest thing was making sure the other family was okay," said Finnegan.

See It On TV | Report A Typo |  Send Tip |  Get Alerts | Send us photos
Follow @abc11 on Twitter  |  Become a fan on Facebook

Copyright © 2024 WTVD-TV. All Rights Reserved.