Woman dies in wreck Tuesday, man charged in fatal Sunday crash

Staff report

A 20-year-old Enochville woman died early Tuesday after a collision at the intersection of Deal Road and Unity Church Road.

And a Concord man has been charged in a crash that killed a Kannapolis man Sunday.

Krista Marie Cook, of McField Drive, died shortly after 6:35 a.m. Tuesday as Rowan EMS paramedics administered assistance.

Trooper Bradley P. Potts, of the N.C. Highway Patrol, said Cook was driving a 1990 Dodge Spirit north on Unity Church Road.

Potts said Cook drove past the stop sign at Deal Road and into the path of a 2001 full-size Chevrolet pickup driven by Ernest Lewis Chester Jr., 77, of 2685 Deal Road.

The pickup struck Cook's vehicle in the passenger side.

Potts said Cook was not wearing a seat belt and sustained serious injuries.

Frank Greene, public information officer with the Atwell Volunteer Fire Department, said first responders had no trouble getting Cook from her car. They initially called for a helicopter to take Cook to a hospital then averted it to Kannapolis when they saw her condition and canceled it when she died.

"It was a pretty bad wreck. ... It was a good effort, a good response out of everybody, all involved. It's just unfortunate," Greene said. "Some things are just out of your hands. That's just the way it works out."

Greene said the intersection of Deal and Unity Church roads doesn't see an unusually high number of crashes, "but generally, when we have one there, it's a bad one.

"It's just one of those intersections that lends itself to some pretty tough accidents," he said, and "fairly severe injuries."

The Enochville Volunteer Fire Department and Rowan Rescue Squad also responded to the wreck.

Rowan EMS transported Chester and his wife, Hilda Edwards Chester, to Carolinas Medical Center-NorthEast in Concord.

A hospital spokesman said Ernest Chester was treated and released. Hilda Chester was admitted and was listed in fair condition Tuesday afternoon.

Man charged

In the Sunday accident, a 44-year-old Kannapolis man delivering pizzas for Pizza Hut died after a driver attempted to pass in a no-passing zone on Enochville Avenue in Enochville.

James Dean Crowder, 44, of 601 Forest Ave., Kannapolis, died shortly after the noon accident.

On Monday, N.C. Highway Patrol Trooper M.T. Eason charged Randy Lee Davis, 38, of 1176 Lempster Drive, Concord, with misdemeanor death by vehicle.

According to Eason's report, Crowder was driving a 1994 Chevrolet Cavalier south on Enochville Avenue.

As he made a turn onto Upper Enochville Road, adjacent to the fire station, his vehicle was struck in the side by a 1989 Ford van driven by Davis.

According to the report, Davis was also traveling south on Enochville Avenue when he pulled out to pass vehicles in front of him.

Davis passed one vehicle and then struck the turning Cavalier driven by Crowder.

Eason said that section of road has double yellow lines, making passing illegal. Eason estimated Davis' speed at 55-60 mph in a 45-mph zone.

Crowder died at Carolinas Medical Center-NorthEast at 1 p.m. Sunday.