Catawba Woman Dead From Wrong Way Driver

After a man drove the wrong way on U.S. 321, a North Carolina woman has died and two others were injured as he slammed into a pickup truck. It is still not known why the driver ended up going in the wrong direction.

According to the Hickory Daily Record 71-year-old Daisy Mae Christopher Buff died Tuesday in Catawba County after her husband drove the wrong way on the highway's off ramp and headed north in a southbound lane.

Seventy-five-year-old Jessie Peter Buff of Catawba and the driver of the truck he hit, 60-year-old Howard Helton, were flown to hospitals where they were in critical condition. Authorities say alcohol was not involved. Southbound lanes of 321 were closed almost two hours while crews worked to clear the accident scene.

Wrong-way driving is the act of driving a motor vehicle against the direction of traffic. It is a serious problem associated with divided highways. In the United States, about 350 people are killed each year in accidents caused by drivers headed in the wrong direction on the highway. Most drivers who enter a divided highway or ramp in the wrong direction correct themselves by turning around.

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