WEST END, N.C. (WNCN) — A Corvette driver and his teen passenger in Moore County were injured Saturday after the driver’s lead foot triggered a crash — with the rear wheels of a tractor-trailer running over the car, troopers said.
The crash happened just after 1 p.m. along N.C. 211 in the West End area of Moore County, according to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.
The 62-year-old driver of a 1999 Corvette gave it “too much gas and lost control” while heading north on N.C. 211 near N.C. 73, North Carolina Trooper G. J. Smith said.
The Corvette crossed the center line just as a tractor-trailer was passing southbound on N.C. 211, Smith said.
As the Corvette crossed into the soundbound lanes, it missed hitting the cab portion of the tractor-trailer. Instead, the sports car went under the trailer, and the rear wheels of the big rig’s trailer ran over the Corvette — mostly the hood area — during the crash, according to Smith.
The trailer was loaded with 15,000 pounds of cargo, heavily damaging the Corvette and injuring the driver and a 15-year-old Corvette passenger, the trooper said.
The pair in the sports car, who were not wearing seatbelts, were lucky to be alive after the wreck, Smith said.
The boy passenger suffered only a broken ankle. The driver was more seriously hurt with several broken bones and other injuries, Smith said.
Both were taken to Moore County Regional Hospital, with the driver of Raeford, later transferred to UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill, the trooper told CBS 17.
Images after the crash showed massive damage to the Corvette, especially the hood area. The rear wheels on the tractor-trailer were also damaged, photos from the Sandhills Sentinel showed.
The driver, who works at a nearby car repair shop, was cited with careless and reckless driving, Smith said.
The tractor-trailer driver was not injured. N.C. 211 was closed for more than an hour after the wreck.