DARE COUNTY, N.C. — A 2-year-old baby boy died in a collision in Dare County Thursday morning, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety (NCDPS) and State Highway Patrol (NCSHP).
Around 8:02 a.m., a broken-down 1991 Ford Mustang in the eastbound lane of the Virginia Dare Memorial Bridge was rear-ended by a 2023 GMC SUV that failed to reduce speed.
NC officials said the Mustang instantly caught fire, and the driver of the GMC pulled the Mustang driver from their vehicle and helped them extinguish the flames from their body.
Neither driver was able to rescue a 2-year-old boy from the burning Mustang.
The driver of the GMC was treated and released from Outer Banks Health Hospital after receiving minor injuries from the collision.
Meanwhile, the driver of the Mustang was airlifted to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. He is being treated in the ICU and is expected to recover.
Authorities have charged the GMC driver with failure to reduce speed to avoid a collision and misdemeanor death by motor vehicle. However, officials also say speed nor impairment were factors in the collision.
A short time after the collision a Dare County Sheriff’s Office deputy arrived at the scene of the incident.
According to NC officials, he activated his blue lights in the westbound lanes and crossed over the median barrier wall in an attempt to get the child out when a vehicle traveling west struck the rear of his vehicle.
In this collision, no one was injured, but the driver who rear-ended the deputy’s vehicle was cited and released for failure to reduce speed to avoid a collision.
Both vehicles had to be towed from the scene.
The Virginia Dare Memorial Bridge was shut down in both directions until almost 11 a.m. that day.