By Thomas Smith
Staff Reporter
tsmith@elkintribune.com

Two people died and another person was seriously injured in a late morning wreck on U.S. 421 in Yadkin County on Friday.

Reported shortly after 11 a.m., the wreck claimed the lives of Shirley Moon Rawls, 63, of 241 Corbett McNeil Road, Boone, and Lonnie Handy, 84, 1236 Mountain Scenery Road, Roaring River.

A third victim, Johnny Gordon Rawls, 63, husband of Shirley Moon Rawls and driver of the one of the vehicles involved in the wreck, was airlifted to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem. As of Sunday, Johnny Rawls remained at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in critical condition.

The wreck happened in the southbound lane of U.S. 421 underneath the Asbury Church Road overpass, between I-77 and Windsor Road.

The wreck occurred because Handy was driving the wrong direction on the highway, according to Trooper R. N. Bates of the N.C. Highway Patrol. Handy had been seen at a nearby gas station before the crash.

"We think he left the Shell station off Asbury Church Road and somehow got on U.S. 421 and started traveling down that way," Bates said. "I guess he thought it was a two lane road or wasn't paying attention. We don't know why he did that."

According to the Highway Patrol report, Handy was traveling west on the east bound side of the highway, in the left (passing) lane. Handy's car, a small Ford sedan, collided head-on with a 1996 Chevy Blazer, driven by Johnny Rawls.

The sedan then careened off and struck a passing tractor trailer, leaving visible tire marks on the side of the trailer. Both the SUV and sedan came to a rest on opposite sides of the road and the trailer skidded to a halt just below the bridge.

First Responder and rescue teams from Yadkin County were called to the scene as the Highway Patrol arrived to investigate.

Traffic backed up in both directions on U.S. 421. Emergency workers completely halted east bound traffic for more than an hour.