By Karen Martin

Staff reporter

kamartin@elkintribune.com

Shortly after 10 p.m. Saturday, a vehicle accident involving Douglas Wayne Colvard Jr., 25, of 309 Blue Ridge Avenue, Elkin, and Michael Williams, 29, of 6149 Siloam Road, Siloam, occurred on C.B. Eller School Road.

“The two men were traveling in a white (Toyota Tacoma )pick-up truck that apparently lost control and went over an embankment coming to rest near the creek bed,” said Brian Dudley, Chief of Pleasant Hill Volunteer Fire Department.

Colvard, the driver, was ejected from the vehicle while Williams was trapped in the truck. The door of the vehicle had to be removed to retrieve Williams.

Traffic was stopped on C.B. Eller School Rd. for several hours while the Pleasant Hill Volunteer Fire Department, Wilkes County Rescue and the Elkin Rescue responded to the scene.

According to State Highway Patrol Trooper Walker, speed was the only factor, and that neither men were wearing seatbelts.

An Air Care helicopter was called in to transport Colvard to Wake Forest University Baptist Hospital. A landing zone was set up by State Road Fire Department at C.B. Eller School. The transport-by-helicopter at the scene had to be aborted due to the deterioration of Colvard’s condition when the ambulance arrived at the landing site. Both Colvard and Williams were transported to Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital in Elkin by ambulance, where doctors stabilized Colvard’s condition.

The Air Care helicopter moved to the hospital’s landing zone and transported Colvard to Winston-Salem, where he later died.

At press time, Williams was listed in fair condition at Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital.

Late Sunday afternoon, the Pleasant Hill VFD held a Critical Incident Stress Debriefing meeting in response to the death of Colvard.

“The VFD holds these meetings after every fatality that happens after a trauma or when anyone is bothered by things that may have happened at a trauma scene,” Joey Johnson, Pleasant Hill volunteer firefighter said. “This meeting was more personal for many members because the victim of this accident was a member of the community and known by most all of the Pleasant Hill volunteer firefighters.”

Leanne Cloudman contributed to this article.