Head-on crash along Burke County highway has drivers asking for safety precautions

BURKE COUNTY, N.C. — A head-on crash on a Burke County highway has drivers asking for more safety precautions.

The crash happened Tuesday along Highway 181 north of Morganton. Channel 9′s Dave Faherty could see both cars involved were badly damaged.

Ethan Beam told Faherty that he was in his pickup truck heading up the mountain to a plumbing job when another truck hauling oxygen and acetylene tanks came across the centerline and hit him.

Eyewitness Jeff Bender said he saw the accident and spoke with the driver who caused it. “He told me himself he lost his brakes. He went left of center because he didn’t want to go off the hill,” Bender said.

Beam said he is now recovering at home and said is thankful to be alive. Beam told Faherty after the crash, he climbed out of the wreckage, got down and kissed the ground.

“I had to just kiss the ground and thank the good Lord for letting me stay here,” Beam said. “All I seen was all the glass break and I closed my eyes for the rest. Prayed for the best.”

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Beam showed Faherty where he broke his wrist and dislocated his knee after the crash. He talked about his experience and the possible changes that could be made there.

“There’s so many wrecks on that curve, and really, something needs to be done as far as more warning signs at the top,” he said. “Letting truckers know that it is a very steep grade, it is very dangerous.”

Firefighters said they’ve responded to dozens of wrecks there over the last 10 years. The area where it happened is a curve that’s part of a straightaway that heads down the mountainside.

Firefighters said on average, they respond to five to six wrecks a week on that curve, most of them involving big rigs.

The posted speed limit there is 20 miles per hour, as many 18-wheelers find the curve difficult to navigate.

Highway Patrol said that the driver who caused the accident has been cited for exceeding a safe speed and driving left of center. They also inspected the driver’s brakes and found they did indeed malfunction.

Channel 9 has reached out to both the highway patrol and the North Carolina Department of Transportation to learn if anything is being done about the stretch of roadway, and if there were any charges from Tuesday’s wreck.

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