Union County: Wreck kills Piedmont High senior

Charlotte.com

March 07, 2008

A Piedmont High School senior was killed and another injured Thursday in a head-on collision in northern Union County, police said.

Marshall Freeman Hinson III, 17, was declared dead at the scene near N.C. 218 and Crooked Creek Church Road, said N.C. Highway Patrol Sgt. M.A. Marshburn.

Samuel Thomas Baker, 17, was airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte and was undergoing surgery Thursday afternoon. He was in critical condition, said Trooper Randy Lankford.

Baker and Hinson had attended their early morning classes, but apparently left without permission, Piedmont principal Wanda Little said. The school is in Unionville, north of Monroe.

Baker, in the driver's seat of the 1987 Mercedes Benz, was headed west around 9:50 a.m. on N.C. 218 when the car crossed the center line on a curve and struck a 2004 Chevrolet Impala, Highway Patrol officers said. The impact lifted the Mercedes into the air and flipped it on its side.

Paramedics arrived to find Hinson dead and Baker trapped. It took crews about 45 minutes to free Baker, Lankford said.

The driver of the Chevrolet, David Alan Croasmun, 57, of Matthews, suffered a broken leg. His wife, Barbara, 57, suffered internal injuries. They were listed in critical condition at CMC in Charlotte Thursday evening.

Officers say Baker was driving over the 55 mph speed limit. There was no sign at the scene that drugs or alcohol were involved, Lankford said. Baker was wearing his seat belt, but Marshburn said he could not confirm whether Hinson was wearing his.

No charges had been filed Thursday evening.

Hinson was quiet and reserved but also well-liked and respected by his classmates, Little said. He had an interest in computers, leaning toward a vocational track at Piedmont and taking business classes, Little said. Grief counselors will be at the school again today.

Copyright © 2008 Charlotte.com, All Rights Reserved.