Crash sends Todd House awning onto SUV, no one is hurt
First responders and others at The Todd House Wedding & Event Center Wednesday afternoon. (Deuce Niven, TLT)
By DEUCE NIVEN
tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com
A mid-afternoon wreck that sent an awning at The Todd House Wedding & Event Center crashing into the top of an SUV left no one hurt, but prompted an a carefully choreographed effort to clear the debris.
Brett Burroughs, a local educator and coach, said he had been working out across Live Oak Street at the Tabor City Gym, got into his Kia to head home, and began to feel dizzy as he approached Tabor City Baptist Church.
“I turned around to go back to the gym,” Burroughs said. “Then, I don’t know what happened. I guess I passed out.”
His westbound car crossed the two-lane street at about 2:40 p.m. on May 21, and crashed through two brick pillars supporting the awning. His roof caved in near the center, but Burroughs had no visible injury, not a scratch, and said he felt fine.
The Todd House owner Allen Strickland and manager Pam Byrd said they wanted it known that they were not upset with Burroughs.
“We’re just thankful that he’s all right,” Byrd said. “The awning is just a thing, it can be fixed. We’ll be open for business as usual, and we’ll rebuild it better.”
Burroughs said he had a similar incident some months ago, passing out but not while driving, and went through a battery of medical tests trying to find out what happened.
“They couldn’t find anything,” Burroughs said, despite testing that included neurology, cardiology, and diabetic testing.
Burroughs said he would be seeking additional medical advice, though he wasn’t immediately certain where to go.
A Joe’s Wrecker crew carefully removes an awning at The Todd House Wedding & Event Center from an SUV Wednesday. (Deuce Niven, TLT)
Careful extrication
First responders from the Tabor City Police Department and Fire Department said Joe’s Wrecker Service from Whiteville had the only wrecker in the area capable of swiveling its wench and safely, and relatively easily, remove the awning from the SUV.
That truck, and at least two others from Joe’s, responded, its crews strapping the awning carefully and gently lifting it away from the Kia, and a short time later setting it onto a trailer. They were even able to rescue the chandelier from the awning, no worse for the wear.
Look for more on this story in the next Tabor-Loris Tribune, in print and online.
