Waffle House employees rescue children from deadly crash on NC-210 in Benson

BENSON, N.C. -- A person was killed and several children were rescued when a driver collided with a power pole on NC-210 in Benson Wednesday morning, causing the vehicle to catch on fire.

Johnston County dispatch confirmed a person was killed in a single-vehicle crash and three others were taken to WakeMed Hospital in Raleigh. The accident happened around 2:15 and occurred near Raleigh Road, close to West Johnston High School.

Employees at a nearby Waffle House heard the crash and left the restaurant to help a woman inside the car by carrying her and the children to safety. They say the car hit a pole and then a tree before a fire started.

"I started running over there," Tyler Martinez said. "By the time I got into the car is when I saw the female turn around and try and get her kid out. The fire started in the engine area. At that point, I swung open the door and helped her get the baby in the car seat out. She hopped out and gave me her other kid. I carried pretty much all three of them over to where the field is."

"It's just an instinct, to make sure that that person is OK and if you can help them, help them," Ashley Henson said.