“Every time it rains or there’s fog or anything, there’s going to be a wreck there and we’re just waiting to get the call.” –Chief Deputy Chris Kidd
BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — Martin County Chief Deputy Sheriff Chris Kidd wants to make residents aware of a dangerous situation on Buck Creek Hill that has caused at least three wrecks in the past two weeks involving vehicles traveling up the hill from the Warfield side. He worked a single-vehicle accident Thursday morning that ended with a truck on its top.
“The driver said the road was very slick, his truck fishtailed, and when he tried to correct, the road was so slick that he fishtailed back around and flipped on his top,” said Kidd.
“But all the stories with these wrecks are the same: They come up the hill, it is very slick, and they lose control of the rear end of their vehicle and fishtail.”
In one recent accident, Kidd said the driver overcorrected his vehicle, then went into oncoming traffic and struck another vehicle head-on, causing injuries to both parties.
The driver in another accident reported coming up the hill, fishtailing because the road was very slick, and losing control.
“One of them ended up flipping on its top,” said Kidd. “Luckily, he was wearing a seat belt and didn’t get ejected. But the story is always the same – ‘it’s so slick.’”
Kidd confirmed there was no ice on the roadway Thursday or the dates of the previous two accidents.
“It’s always with a little bit of rain or early in the morning when the dew is falling on the road,” he said.
“The state road department has shown up at the scene of the wrecks a few times, and I talked to them, not in an official capacity but just discussing how bad it was. They stated they felt it was something to do with the mixture. They were very familiar with that location, very familiar with that area, very familiar that there were so many wrecks in that same spot. They indicated that it’s something to do with the mixture when the asphalt was laid down, making the surface slicker than what it’s supposed to be.”
Residents will notice the lane going down the hill on the Warfield side has been resurfaced with a more sticky substance.
“I can say so far I have not had any wrecks on that side,” remarked Kidd. “Every wreck has been on the other side that has not been resurfaced.”
Kidd said the sheriff’s office’s main concern is for the residents driving on that part of the road.
“We just want to make them aware of the situation. And I’d say that most of them are aware that it’s very slick; it’s very dangerous,” said Kidd.
“Like I said, every time it rains or there’s fog or anything, there’s going to be a wreck there and we’re just waiting to get the call.”