Eastern Rowan Man Dies Coming Home From Church

BY JOHN PATTERSON
SALISBURY POST

FAITH - A well-known resident of eastern Rowan County died in a traffic accident here while returning home from church Sunday morning.

Jasan Leon Park Sr., 81, of 6980 Faith Road, was traveling east on Second Street around 10:20 a.m. Sunday when he failed to heed a stop sign at the intersection of Brown and Second streets. A 1997 Dodge van, driven by Lawrence Guessford, 60, of 3680 Faith Road, collided with Park's 1988 Buick, pushing Park's car about 75 yards down Brown Street. Guessford's van rolled onto its side and into a yard bordering the intersection.

It wasn't clear this morning whether Park died from injuries sustained in the collision, or if he died just prior to the accident. Officials at the scene said there was a possibility Park suffered either a heart attack or stroke and was unconscious when he passed through the intersection.

M.A. Leonard, a trooper with the N.C. Highway Patrol, said medical officials will perform an autopsy on Park's body to determine exactly how he died.

"There was some indication that he (Park) had some prior medical history," Leonard said. "It (autopsy) will give us more information on how this happened."

Guessford and his wife, Juanita - a passenger in their van - were both taken to Rowan Regional Medical Center. Guessford was treated for a broken leg and his wife was treated and released, according to Leonard.

Park's son, Jason, said his father knew Faith's streets well and that it was unlikely he wouldn't realize there was a stop sign at the intersection where the accident occurred.

"I can't say one way or the other what happened, but he'd driven that way lots of times," Jason Park said this morning. "The trooper will have to make the final determination."

Jasan Park, who had worked at the VA Hospital in Salisbury since it opened in the early 1950s, was an active member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church, his son said.

"He was a real active member of the church and was well-known, especially in the Faith and Rockwell areas," Jason Park said. "He went to high school at the China Grove Farm Life High School ... he had his group of friends that he saw everyday."

Jasan Park, who had been retired for 19 years, leaves behind a daughter and two grandchildren in addition to his son.