Union Co. Crash Caused By Wrong-Way Driver Kills 2

Two drivers were killed in a head-on crash in Union County late Tuesday.

Troopers said one sport utility vehicle, driven by 58-year-old William Odom of Georgia, was going east on Highway 74, but another SUV, driven by 52-year-old Patrick Valdivieso of Charlotte, was going the wrong way on the highway. They slammed into each other in Indian Trail, causing a fiery explosion near Brickyard Road just before 10 p.m.

The explosion and the flames were so intense that much of the wreckage was incinerated, including one of the license tags. Troopers shut down Highway 74 until just after 1 a.m. Wednesday.

Investigators said there are no marks on the median in Indian Trail to indicate that the wrong-way driver crossed it on Highway 74, and because they got no 911 calls until after the crash, they don't know how far he'd driven the wrong way.

They said Odom never saw the crash coming because Valdivieso had just crested a hill when the collision happened.

Alex Agurto said Valdivieso was his cousin.

“Can't believe it,” he said.

“Any idea why he would have been driving on the wrong side of the road?” Eyewitness News asked.

“I have no idea. No idea,” he said.

Agurto and other family members came out to look over the scene Wednesday. Anthony Walters came back, too -- 12 hours after he saw the flames and the two trapped drivers.

“By the time I run down the road and tried to get a double-bladed axe to cut them out, it was too late,” Walters said.

But the first witnesses on the scene said at least one driver was still alive when they arrived.

“We saw a man sticking his head and reaching for help out of the side of a window,” said Brandi Stamey.

Stamey was with a friend whose mother pulled over when she saw the flames.

“She was trying to get people to help him, but nobody would help him,” she said.

State troopers said they're still not sure where or why Valdivieso crossed over Highway 74, but the deadly crash has Steve Vail, who stopped to look at the aftermath, more wary than ever.

“I have kids driving now,” he said. “Very scary.”

Troopers said both drivers were going 55 mph, which is the speed limit along the stretch of road. They said while there have been some high profile wrong-way crashes on interstates, they can't remember any on Highway 74.

Troopers said an autopsy will determine if alcohol or drugs played a factor.