A Sunday night crash has claimed a second victim, bringing the county highway death toll to ten this year.
Heather Nichole “Nikki” Pennington died Tuesday from injuries sustained in Sunday night’s crash near Chadbourn.
Pennington, 36, and Josh Thorp, 43, were traveling east on China Grove Church Road Sunday evening when Thorp’s car went off the road, struck a ditch, a driveway culvert and a utility pole, then overturned. Both were ejected. The Nissan automobile was demolished. Speed was a factor in the crash, according to the Highway Patrol.
The crash occurred not far from Thorp’s home on China Grove Church Road.
Thorp was dead at the scene, according to the Highway Patrol. Pennington was critically injured, and transferred from Columbus Regional. She was an organ donor. Pennington leaves behind her parents, grandmother and two small children.
The crash was the second double fatality in four days in the county. Two men were killed in a head-on collison near Bolton Thursday morning.
