Two hurt in collision on South Main

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, August 31, 2011

SALISBURY — A woman was taken by helicopter to a Winston-Salem hospital this afternoon after the car she was riding in pulled into the path of a truck traveling with a group of cyclists to New York for a Sept. 11 memorial.
Emergency responders landed the helicopter in a parking lot on South Main Street after the wreck at South Main and Monroe streets.
Two people were pinned in a Chevrolet Lumina when it was hit in the passenger side by the truck at the intersection, according to emergency radio communications. Firefighters cut away parts of the car to get them out.
Authorities said the Chevrolet was traveling south on Main Street and and turned left from Main onto Monroe when the wreck happened. 
Salisbury Police Officer Daniel Fleming said the driver, Annie Watkins, 64, of 420 Vance Ave., failed to yield and was struck by a truck driven by Justin Jones, of Naples, Fla. Watkins has been cited for failure to yield. 
Watkins was taken by ambulance to Rowan Regional Medical Center with chest and arm pain. 
Paula Dagenhart, a passenger in the Chevrolet, was flown out by a helicopter to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. The helicopter landed in the former Salvation Army Store lot at 520 S. Main St.
Jones and a passenger in the truck refused medical treatment, according to emergency radio communications. The truck was driving through Salisbury ahead of a group of more than 50 cyclists with the 9/11 Brotherhood Ride.
The cyclists, riding to honor fallen firefighters, started in Naples, Fla. on Aug. 20 and are riding up the East Coast. They’re scheduled to arrive in New York on Sept. 10.
The cyclists were scheduled to ride up U.S. 29 into Salisbury late this afternoon and stop at Fire Station No. 2 before continuing to Salisbury’s firefighter memorial. They’re staying overnight in Salisbury then riding out in the morning.
The truck, an emergency response support vehicle, was pulling a trailer with bicycles inside.
The wreck damaged a utility pole at South Main and Horah streets, authorities said.