Wife discovers husband dead following car wreck

CALDWELL COUNTY, N.C. — Troopers said a Caldwell County father was killed in a tragic vehicle accident and the first person on the scene was the man’s wife.

She discovered his car Friday morning not far from the couple's home west of Lenoir on Abington Road.
 
Eyewitness News reporter Dave Faherty talked to her about the devastating discovery.

The driver's wife said she searched for hours before finding him about 50 feet off the road.

Highway patrol said the driver, David Holden, went off the road about a mile from his home.

He was thrown from his truck during the crash and ended up pinned under it.

His wife, Lynn Holden, began looking for him at about 8 p.m. Thursday when he didn't return from a friend's house. 
 
"I saw the marks on the trees and I went down there and he was already gone," she said.
 
Investigators said the truck hit an embankment and two trees before continuing down the hillside and out of sight from someone driving on the two lane road.
 
They said they didn't find skid marks where the truck crossed the center line and may never know what caused the crash.  

"Very sad," said Trooper Tommy Williams. "The wife was out here -- the first one on the scene -- the daughter came out. "Very sad. Very sad."
 
"Holden said her grandchildren were with her when she found the truck and her husband.
 
The couple had been married for 30 years. She says the taillights were still on and wish she had found him sooner.  

"I saw it last night but I thought it was a reflection off of my car," she said. "When I saw him I knew. I knew."

The highway patrol said speed may have been a factor in this crash. They also don't believe Holden was wearing a seat belt.

WSOC